Kamala Harris has revealed [1] in her forthcoming memoir that she initially wanted Pete Buttigieg as her running mate during the 2024 election but ultimately decided against it, citing concerns over how voters would react to his sexuality.
In excerpts from 107 Days published by The Atlantic, Harris wrote that Buttigieg was her “first choice” but acknowledged she believed his being gay posed a political risk.
“He would have been an ideal partner—if I were a straight white man,” Harris wrote.
She added, “But we were already asking a lot of America: to accept a woman, a Black woman, a Black woman married to a Jewish man. Part of me wanted to say, ‘Screw it, let’s just do it.’ But knowing what was at stake, it was too big of a risk.”
Her comments sparked immediate reaction. Buttigieg, now serving as Secretary of Transportation, told Politico on September 18 that he was “surprised” by Harris’s account.
“You just have to go to voters with what you think you can do for them,” he said.
“Politics is about the results we can get for people and not about these other things.” He added that Americans deserved “more credit” than to assume they would reject such a ticket.
Harris became the Democratic nominee after Joe Biden withdrew from the race.
She had not previously won a national primary contest before being selected to lead the ticket.
Her remarks were addressed again during an appearance on MSNBC with Rachel Maddow.
Maddow pressed Harris directly, saying, “It’s hard to hear—with you running as, you know, the first woman elected Vice President, a Black woman, and a South Asian woman elected to that high office, very nearly elected President—to say that he couldn’t be on the ticket effectively because he was gay. It’s hard to hear.”
Harris responded by rejecting the suggestion that she excluded Buttigieg solely for that reason, but at the same time acknowledged his sexuality presented a challenge in the political climate of 2024.
“No, that’s not what I said—that he couldn’t be on the ticket because he is gay,” Harris said.
“My point, as I write in the book, is that I was clear that in 107 days, in one of the most hotly contested elections for President of the United States against someone like Donald Trump, who… it was no floor… to be a Black woman running for President of the United States, and, as a vice-presidential running mate, a gay man—with the stakes being so high—it made me very sad, but I also realized it would be a real risk.”
Harris continued, “No matter how… I’ve been an advocate and an ally of the LGBT community my entire life. It wasn’t about any prejudice on my part. But we had such a short period of time, and the stakes were so high. I think Pete is a phenomenal, phenomenal public servant. I think America is—and would be—ready for that. But when I had to make that decision, with two weeks to go, and maybe I was being too cautious, I’ll let our friends… we should all talk about that. Maybe I was. But that’s the decision I made. With everything else in the book, I’m being very candid about that—with a great deal of sadness about also the fact that it might have been a risk.”
Kamala on not picking Pete Buttigieg as her VP: “To be a black woman running for the President of the United States and as a Vice Presidential running mate, a gay man, with the stakes being so high, I realized it would be a real risk.” pic.twitter.com/Wg0wuYqolo [2]
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) September 23, 2025 [3]
The memoir 107 Days is scheduled for release later this fall.
Harris’s admission has renewed debate over how Democrats approach issues of representation and identity in national politics, particularly in the wake of a contentious election cycle.