Pete Buttigieg's sexuality isn't his biggest hurdle | Opinion

Pete Buttigieg thinks America is ready for a gay president.

"I wouldn't have run for president in the first place if I didn't believe that," the former Transportation secretary told "Meet the Press" on Sept. 13, dodging questions about a possible 2028 presidential run.

Buttigieg became the first openly gay candidate to run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2019, while serving as the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and became the first openly LGBTQ+ person of any party to earn a delegate and win a state caucus or primary when he won Iowa in 2020 – the only state he won that election.

He continued to make history when former President Joe Biden appointed him Transportation secretary.

In her book, "107 Days," former Vice President Kamala Harris wrote that Buttigieg would've been her running mate in the 2024 presidential election had the idea of a Black woman and a gay man on the same ticket not been "too big of a risk."

Buttigieg thinks a gay man on a presidential ticket isn't a risk at all, most likely because he presents as the type of gay man most people find palatable.

A study from Northwestern University found that support for gay candidates is, of course, stratified by political affiliation. Being gay reduced a candidate's probability of support among Republicans by about 22 percentage points. For Democrats, being gay slightly increased the level of support. Among all voters, identifying as gay dropped a candidate's probability of support by 7 percentage points, and having a gender nonconforming appearance dropped the probability of support of a gay candidate by another 7 percentage points.

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To the moderate voters whom the Democratic Party is so overly focused on courting, you can be gay (sort of) but not too gay. Luckily for him, Buttigieg fits in the latter category.

It's also hard to get a lucid view of an LGBTQ+ candidate's electability given the targeted attacks on the community. President Donald Trump has signed an array of executive orders that directly jeopardize programs and policies to meet the needs of LGBTQ+ people, particularly the transgender community.

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The thing about Buttigieg, though, is that sexuality isn't the sole factor influencing his electability, or lack thereof. Despite the veneer of a respectable, career politician – he has engineered his life to impress MSNBC liberals – Buttigieg has little to show for his time in Washington outside of the achievements afforded by his identity. He's got a likable spouse, two adorable, adopted biracial children, all while appearing as traditional as possible.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel

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His tenure as Transportation secretary was marred by decades of dysfunctional infrastructure projects far too expansive for one man to fix, despite his successes in roadway safety and airline protections, some of which have been reversed by the Trump administration.

Those who don't care about all that context will remember the train derailments, the lack of progress on mass transit and worsening highway traffic, and wonder what Pete was up to for four years.

And unfortunately, Buttigieg doesn't have the personality to make up for the lack of notable political wins. He's generally personable and vanilla, which is a boon for more bureaucratic positions, but a bane when trying to mobilize voters of a desperately demoralized party.

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If Democrats give Harris another shot, get ready for a Republican win

He's not alone in this, though. Across the aisle, many of the names circling a 2028 presidential run are complete charisma vacuums.

Vice President JD Vance has the personality of a doorknob. Donald Trump Jr. isn't a serious person.

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, have the most personality out of the bunch, but AOC, despite her potential, might be too big of a risk, and Newsom's recent comments on backing out of the race should Harris run again are stupid at best and spineless at worst.

Speaking of Harris, if the Democratic Party is serious about giving her another shot, we might as well get used to four more years of Republican leadership.

Voters are tired of dragging their feet to the polls and voting begrudgingly. Right now, Pete Buttigieg is a nothingburger – an inoffensive, malleable centrist. If he's serious about becoming president, he desperately needs to find some verve.

Kofi Mframa is an entertainment and culture columnist at USA TODAY.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pete Buttigieg's sexuality isn't his biggest hurdle | Opinion