The superdelegate who was outed
Jason Rae, the 21-year-old superdelegate who is a student at Marquette University, received a lesson in the pitfalls of politics when he was outed by the DNC.
Jason Rae has gotten an early lesson in the pitfalls of politics, says Ian Daly in Details. Earlier this year, as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama fought fiercely for the Democratic presidential nomination, the Marquette University student made headlines as the nation’s youngest superdelegate. Just 21, Rae was courted actively, meeting personally with both candidates and fielding calls from major Democratic figures such as Madeleine Albright and John Kerry. But though he became a campus celebrity and a frequent presence on cable news, there was one thing he didn’t talk about: the fact that he was gay. He did join the Democratic National Committee’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Caucus, but he says he still considered his sexuality nobody’s business. But then, in February, the DNC released the names and committee affiliations of all of the superdelegates—effectively outing him. Rae was mortified, because he had not yet talked about his orientation with his own parents. “I was like, ‘Hey, soooo … we need to talk,’” he says he told them over the phone. “I was glad I wasn’t home when I told them.” Rae’s mom and dad took the news in stride, he says. “They weren’t angry. They were just upset that I told the DNC before I told them.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Inside Marseille's deadly drug wars
The Explainer Teenage hitmen recruited through social media are lured by money and gang 'brand'
By The Week UK Published
-
A human foot found on Mount Everest is renewing the peak's biggest mystery
The discovery is reviving questions about who may have summited the mountain first
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: October 22, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Is Trump okay?
Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The life and times of Kamala Harris
The Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
By The Week UK Published
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?
Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
1 of 6 'Trump Train' drivers liable in Biden bus blockade
Speed Read Only one of the accused was found liable in the case concerning the deliberate slowing of a 2020 Biden campaign bus
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court rejects challenge to CFPB
Speed Read The court rejected a conservative-backed challenge to the way the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is funded
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published