Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg on husband: ‘I don’t know how I could possibly do this without Chasten’

LOS ANGELES - Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg holds 18% of the vote, right behind Senator Bernie Sanders with 23% in a new poll of New Hampshire Democratic primary voters from 7 News/Emerson College.

Despite these strong recent poll showings by Buttigieg, he hasn’t been considered a Democratic front-runner in the same realm as Sanders, former Vice President Joe Biden, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. 

How far the 37-year-old, former mayor makes it into the presidential race is undetermined. Regardless of where he places, his husband Chasten Buttigieg is likely to be right by his side.

In a recent appearance on “The Issue Is,"  a nationally-syndicated news show that focuses on political topics and public interest issues, the presidential candidate sat down with host Elex Michaelson to discuss his campaign, personal background, and political hopes for the future. One message that seemed to resonate, though, was his devotion to his spouse.

When asked by Michaelson how marriage has changed him, Buttigieg, who is regarded as the first openly gay democratic presidential candidate, stated that when he was a young bachelor mayor, he couldn’t “imagine how people could be in elected office and married at the same time.”

“Now that I’m married and running for president, I can’t imagine how I could possibly do this without Chasten,” he said.

A clip of the interview posted to Michaelson’s Twitter page garnered over 90,000 views and more than 1,400 likes. Twitter users also spoke in support of the political couple.

“God Bless them. Their story is important for the nation to hear. Regardless of election outcomes,” one user wrote.

“I adore these two guys! Pete and Chasten are such great role models. America needs leaders like them,” wrote another.

Michaelson tweeted on Friday, Jan. 17 that Michael Bloomberg would be appearing on the program. 

This story was reported from Los Angeles.