Pete Buttigieg has made religion a focal point for his campaign in an effort to bridge a gap among religious Democratic voters and disaffected conservatives unable to "stomach" President Donald Trump, according to The New York Times.
"God does not belong to a political party in the United States of America," Buttigieg told a campaign gathering in Iowa, per the report.
Buttigieg, seeking to capitalize on solid polling numbers in Iowa, despite mediocre numbers in national polls, is making the case to religious voters who are not behind his Democratic primary rivals or Trump.
Buttigieg claimed Democrats display "an allergy" to faith and Republicans use "faith as a way to tell some people they don't belong," per the Times.
As Trump has capitalized on support from evangelicals and ripped Buttigieg for becoming religious "two weeks ago," Buttigieg responded, according to the Times: "I'm pretty sure I've been a believer longer than he's been a Republican."
Buttigieg has somewhat surprisingly strong polling numbers for being the youngest – and poorest, he says – candidate, particularly when you consider his low support among black voters and, potentially, religious, as a openly gay candidate.
"We made a mistake when we gave up the Bible and the flag," the Rev. Al Sharpton said of faith and patriotism, which Republican candidates tend to stake claim to, according to the Times.
"Pete has both of those."