A new poll from Politico/Morning Consult found that almost half of American voters don’t think the country is ready for a gay president, potentially hindering Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg’s campaign.
According to the poll, 44 percent of voters don’t think America is ready for an openly gay president, while 40 percent do. However, it appears this has more to do with voters’ view of society than their own prejudices: 50 percent said they could definitely or probably accept a gay president, while 37 percent said they definitely or probably couldn’t.
Unsurprisingly, these numbers differ along party lines.
“Notably, 58 percent of Republicans, 32 percent of independents, and 22 percent of Democrats say they aren’t ready for a gay or lesbian president,” said Morning Consult’s vice president Tyler Sinclair. “The comparative figures not ready for a female president are 36 percent of Republicans. 15 percent of independents, and 8 percent of Democrats.”
Despite this poll, Buttigieg appears to be doing decently in the polls. He recently polled in second among Iowa caucus voters, trailing behind Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and he’s currently polling fourth in a RealClearPolitics poll with 7 percent, following Sen. Bernie Sanders (17.3), Warren (21.7) and former vice president Joe Biden (28).