Chasten Buttigieg Is Winning the 2020 Spouse Primary.

[elleng]

'The first same-sex husband of a major-party presidential candidate is a historic figure, but he’s also a surprisingly traditional one.

Maybe the most noteworthy thing about Chasten Buttigieg’s sudden internet fame is that he has a public profile at all. At this stage in a presidential race, most candidates’ spouses are ornamental figures, . . .

By contrast, the husband of South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg is a constant presence, at least on Twitter, . . .

Few would have expected that the early stars of the 2020 race would be the gay millennial mayor of a mid-size Midwestern city and his 29-year-old husband. Through his very presence, Chasten Buttigieg is breaking ground. But at the same time, what’s most unexpected about Chasten is how conventional he is. At a time when campaigns are treading cautiously, and spouses are navigating a new set of gender . . . the most traditional political spouse in the field.

Being married to a presidential candidate is the most thankless role in politics. . . But for a young gay couple, there are fewer assumptions to meet, Haider-Markel says, which means a guy like Chasten Buttigieg is “not bound by any particular rules about how to behave.”

That leaves him ample room to be himself — and to indulge his innate talent for social media. His Twitter feed is AOC-savvy without the combative edge; light on policy and partisanship, heavy on the personal. . .

Tweets like these fill a traditional function of a candidate’s spouse: to humanize a candidate who, by the very nature of the process, has to present himself as self-aggrandized and larger than life.

And in a nation that’s still coming to terms with the swiftness of social change and the rapid adoption of same-sex marriage, that humanizing has a broader purpose. Though Chasten’s tweets are largely free of gender politics, they’re also unapologetically affectionate, projecting unswerving support and full-on adoration. In January, when Pete Buttigieg announced his exploratory committee, Chasten tweeted: “I am so proud of my husband . . .

The Buttigiegs are practically newlyweds: After meeting on the dating app Hinge, the couple got married in South Bend last June. . .

Voters are moved by compelling life stories and narratives about overcoming; . . Both Pete and Chasten have talked publicly about the difficulties of coming out to family and community. “Actually being out and representing themselves as such,” Haider-Markel says, “gives an authenticity that many candidates often struggle to provide.” . .

And his appeal has spread beyond the political arena — he’s been featured in a gushing mini-profile in Marie Claire and lionized in the Twitter feeds of humor columnists. His popularity stems partly from the relief of reading a politically related feed that doesn’t feel like politics, . . .

That’s the ultimate purpose of the presidential spouse: to sell the entire package, letting us imagine the family in the White House as a symbol of success, . . Everybody really wants a love story. Maybe one that leaves us all a little chastened.'

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/03/29/pete-buttigieg-husband-chasten-226335?

[USALiberal]

1. Great Story! nt

[dsc]

2. He would be about 20 days older than Jackie Bolivar Kennedy was if he became first spouse

I can't imagine even thinking of dealing with the kind of pressure he would be under. Not only would he be the first male in this role he would be the first LGBT person (at least openly).