Former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg ended his presidential campaign last week after making history as the first openly gay candidate for any party to run for U.S. president.
Media maven Sue O'Connell joined Boston Public Radio on Friday to reflect on Buttigieg's run.
"When all was said and done, I think it was a great step forward for LGBTQ acceptance, especially for kids and teens and young people who can see that you can run for president, you can have a future that everyone else should be able to have," O'Connell said.
O'Connell said that Buttigieg used his platform to remind a national audience of the limits still placed on LGBTQ communities: As a gay man, Buttigieg is unable to give blood due to Red Cross rules; in more than 20 states, he could still be fired from a job for being gay, or even being suspected of being gay; and there are still restrictions against same-sex couples adopting children.
"It's important as we celebrate Pete Buttigieg's success and the acceptance of voters, remember there is still a lot of baked-in hostility across the United States," she said.
O'Connell noted that Buttigieg faced a series of challenges, including his youth and relative inexperience, and noted that he got farther than expected when compared to some of the candidates who sparred with him to be the leading voice of the moderate wing of the party, like Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
Sue O'Connell is the co-publisher of Bay Windows and the South End News, and NECN's political commentator and Explainer-in-Chief.
