Don't lose sight of the fact Pete Buttigieg just made history

He held his own as the first openly gay candidate in a presidential debate

Pete Buttigieg at the 2020 Debate.
(Image credit: Illustrated | SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images, Rawpixel/iStock)

With more than 20 candidates making a case for why they should be the Democratic nominee for president, it might be tempting to see the whole thing as one big circus. That's certainly been the mood on Twitter the last two nights.

Yet, as NBC's Chuck Todd pointed out, the group of candidates gathered in Miami is the most diverse ever to contend for the presidency — and how. With record numbers of both women and non-white candidates vying for the nomination, the Democratic field has made history.

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Neil J. Young

Neil J. Young is a historian and the author of We Gather Together: The Religious Right and the Problem of Interfaith Politics. He writes frequently on American politics, culture, and religion for publications including The New York Times, The Atlantic, the Los Angeles Times, HuffPost, Vox, and Politico. He co-hosts the history podcast Past Present.