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South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg has been surging in the polls, but he hit a stumble when it was revealed by The Guardian that his presidential campaign accepted donations from two lawyers who represented controversial Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearings.
The two lawyers — Alexandra Walsh and Beth Wilkinson — donated a combined $10,000.
Since the revelations, the Buttigieg campaign has announced that it will be returning the donations from the attorneys.
“With nearly 700,000 donors, a contribution we would otherwise refuse sometimes gets through,” the campaign told the publication in a statement. “We believe the women who have courageously spoken out about Brett Kavanaugh’s assault and misconduct, and we thank the Guardian for bringing this contribution to our attention.
“[Kavanaugh] should have never been put on the supreme court and this campaign will not accept donations from those who played a role in making that happen. Accordingly, we will be returning this contribution and others from this firm.”
The mishap comes at a time where Buttigieg continues his meteoric rise.
In the latest polls, Buttigieg has become the favorite in Iowa and New Hampshire, while jumping to second place in a recent national poll behind former Vice President Joe Biden.
Pete Buttigieg Bio & Personal Life
https://www.instagram.com/p/BAqXrxJLFMz/
Born: January 19, 1982 (37 years old)
Political Party: Democratic Party
Education: Saint Joseph’s High School, Harvard College, University of Oxford, Harvard University
Pete Buttigieg was born in South Bend, Indiana to Jennifer Anne Montgomery and Joseph Buttigieg, who were both professors at the University of Notre Dame. His father immigrated to the United States from Malta, while his mother was a lifelong Indiana native.
Buttigieg was a commissioned Naval intelligence officer in the Navy Reserve and deployed to Afghanistan in 2014. Buttigieg was deployed overseas for seven months. During his time in the military, he earned the Joint Service Commendation Medal for his counterterrorism work.
Buttigieg was just 29 years old when he was elected in 2011 and is currently in his eighth and final year as the Mayor of South Bend, Indiana. During his re-election big in 2015, Buttigieg won a whopping 80 percent of the vote.
Buttigieg is the first openly gay municipal executive in Indiana and has been married to his husband, Chasten Glezman, since June 16, 2018. The couple began dating in August 2015.
