John,

We just heard the news: Pete Buttigieg is suspending his Presidential campaign tonight. 

No matter who you were rooting for in this primary, take a second to remember the historic nature of Pete's campaign. He was the first openly LGBTQ person to ever win the Iowa primaries, the first to step foot on a Democratic debate stage. He kissed his husband on live TV and told his coming out story again and again. 

When asked by a nine year old supporter for advice on coming out, Pete said "when I was trying to figure out who I was, I was afraid that who I was might mean that I could never make a difference. And what wound up happening instead is that it's a huge part of the difference I get to make". When asked about his reason for coming out in his valedictorian speech, Brigham Young University's valedictorian cited Pete. That's what history will remember about Pete's campaign. That he inspired young people to live their truth and made the world a little more ready for our first LGBTQ President.

Each time a member of the LGBTQ community stands up to run, it gets a little easier. Each time one of our candidates stands up to a bigot, like Pete stood up to Pence, Trump and recently, Rush Limbaugh, it gets a little easier. Somewhere out there, maybe among our 168 currently endorsed candidates, is the next openly LGBTQ President of the United States.

Regardless of tonight's news, we're going to keep fighting. This year, we will defeat Susan Collins and elect the first openly gay U.S. Senator. We can double the number of openly LGBTQ Members of Congress and elect a new wave of trans state legislators, like Gray Ellis in North Carolina, Sarah McBride in Delaware and more. We can add two big city openly LGBTQ mayors by electing Todd Gloria in San Diego and Mary Washington in Baltimore.

Thanks again for your support -

Sean Meloy

Senior Political Director, LGBTQ Victory Fund