Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend., Ind., said he hopes to have children with his husband, Chasten Buttigieg, but said his presidential run “has kind of slowed down the path a little bit.”
The 2020 presidential contender told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on Monday that the couple have discussed having children together.
“Chasten, my husband, he’s made for a lot of things. He’s a great educator, he’s become a great public figure coming out of the gate,” the mayor said of his husband. “But he’s also going to be an amazing father. And I can’t wait to see him — I hope I’ll be good at it too — but I can’t wait to see him have that chance.”
{mosads}The Democratic candidate married his husband in June 2018 and is the only openly gay man running for president.
He recently said that his marriage has brought him “closer to God.”
“Being married to Chasten has made me a better human being because it has made me more compassionate, more understanding, more self-aware and more decent,” he said.
Pete Buttigieg called out Vice President Pence directly while speaking at the LGBTQ Victory Fund’s annual brunch.
“My marriage to Chasten has made me a better man. And yes, Mr. Vice President, it has moved me closer to God,” he added, prompting applause.
Pence has opposed legalizing gay marriage, something he says stems from his Christian faith. Pence is evangelical, and prior to the White House attended a church affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America, while Buttigieg is Episcopalian.