In a crowded field of Democratic presidential candidates, Pete Buttigieg, pronounced boot-edge-edge, has a lot of momentum. He's a former Naval Intelligence Officer who served seven months in Afghanistan, the two-term mayor of South Bend, Indiana and, oh yeah, an openly gay Christian, who married his husband, Chasten, last June. In the first fundraising quarter, the 37-year-old raised $7 million, making him a significant contender.
Buttigieg is the second openly gay presidential candidate in American history, the first being Republican Fred Karger, who ran a long-shot campaign during the 2012 primary. So far, the millennial's sexuality has not been a liability, showing how much America's social attitudes have changed.
In 2006, when Buttigieg was 24, 34% of Americans said they would be "very uncomfortable" with a gay person running for president, according to an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll. Meanwhile, 19 percent of Americans said they had "reservations," 28 percent said they'd be "comfortable" and only five percent said they be "enthusiastic."