Chasten Buttigieg to headline fundraisers for husband: report

Chasten Buttigieg, Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg’s husband, reportedly plans to headline fundraising events for the South Bend, Ind. mayor.

The 30-year-old teacher, who took a leave of absence to work full-time with the campaign, plans to host events in Chicago, New York and London, Politico reported, adding that he has already run fundraisers in Miami, Tampa and St. Petersburg, Fla.

“He’s something of a secret weapon for this campaign,” Pete Buttigieg told Politico. “One of the things you need to do on a campaign, especially when you’re new on the scene, is introduce yourself and convey your values to as many people as possible. Chasten, through his own story and his own approach and his focus on making sure that people have a sense of belonging, really embodies a lot of the values of this campaign.”

Pete Buttigieg raises about $100,000 at each event, with his husband being responsible for about a third of that, a person familiar with the fundraising totals told the news outlet.

Chasten Buttigieg, who originally introduced his husband at Pete Buttigieg’s events, has broadened his popularity with his social media presence, with more than 380,000 followers on Twitter, sparking voters interest in the potential first gentleman, Politico noted.

At one point, Chasten Buttigieg replaced Pete Buttigieg as the keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention’s LGBTQ gala in June, it added.

Chasten Buttigieg is not the only candidate’s spouse to jump into campaigning. The spouses of former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have all played a role in the campaigning, Politico noted.