The first out gay US president? Pete Buttigieg leads new poll of Democrats to be next nominee

Out gay Democrat Pete Buttigieg is leading in a pool of potential presidential nominees for the party in 2028, a new poll suggests.

Buttigieg, the former secretary of transportation in the Biden administration, received the most support out of several big name players in the new poll conducted by Emerson College Polling.

The poll asked Democrats to look ahead to the 2028 presidential race and choose who they would support for the Democratic nomination.

Alongside Buttigieg, the list included former vice president and 2024 presidential nominee Kamala Harris, California governor Gavin Newsom, New York representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, amongst other names.

Buttigieg received the most support out of any potential candidate and garnered 16 per cent of the vote, even beating out Harris.

Harris received 13 per cent of the vote, followed by Newsom with 12 per cent and Ocasio-Cortez and Shapiro with seven per cent.

Most respondents – 23 per cent – said however that they were ‘undecided’.

If the poll speaks to a wider feeling amongst Democrats, Buttigieg – who made history when he was confirmed by the Senate as secretary of transportation in 2020 – would be the first openly gay person to be the presidential nominee for the Democrats.

The poll also asked Republican voters who they would support as the presidential nominee for the GOP, with many siding with current vice president JD Vance who received 46 per cent of the vote.

Vance was followed by secretary of state Marco Rubio, who trailed far behind in second place as he managed to only get 12 per cent worth of support from GOP voters.

Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, said Vance has “solidified himself as the frontrunner in the 2028 nomination contest, backed by 52% of male Republican primary voters and voters over 60”.

The poll, which was conducted between 24 and 25 June, is also the first Emerson poll of the year to find a negative approval rating for Donald Trump.

It showed that 45 per cent of all voters in the poll said that they approve of the job he is doing as president, while 46 per cent said they disapprove.

“Looking ahead to next year’s Midterm Election, the Democrats have a slight edge over the Republicans, with independents breaking for the Democratic candidate 37 per cent to 27 per cent,” Kimball noted.

“However, a significant 36 per cent of independents are undecided, so this number is expected to shift.”