Pete Buttigieg to Drop Out of Presidential Race

Pete Buttigieg, the first openly gay candidate to launch a serious campaign to become President of the United States, has decided to drop out of the race, according to The New York Times.

As of only yesterday, it looked like Mayor Pete would stay in the race, with his campaign continuing their fundraising push ahead of Super Tuesday.

But while Buttigieg won the Iowa caucus last month and was still gaining delegates in later states, his failure to gain any traction in South Carolina suggested there was no future for him in the primaries.

The former Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, surprised the country as he continued to gather support among white moderates throughout the race, but he ultimately never managed to truly make a dent in any other base. Even the LGBTQ community largely flocked to other candidates, namely Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.

All the same, having an openly gay candidate echoed the sentiment we’ve been seeing in local races throughout the country. America is growing more accepting towards LGBTQ candidates taking higher political offices. While Pete was often criticized both for his lack of experience and for being a moderate when many folks in the LGBTQ community are currently in favor of more progressive candidates, the fact that he made it this far will serve as inspiration to young LGBTQ folks across the country.

His campaign has not issued a public statement at the time of this publication.