MSNBC host Chris Matthews on Monday said he was a "big booster" for South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg.
Buttigieg has been rising in the polls after positioning himself as a centrist alternative to former vice president Joe Biden. Matthews said the strategy has proven effective, adding that "Buttigieg is going to do really well" as the primary voting nears.
"I'm a big booster of Buttigieg," Matthews said. "I know he's gay, I know he's married to another man, I know all that. But in the Democratic Party, that's not going to hold him back."
Buttigieg surged to third place in a recent Iowa poll, according to USA Today. At 13 percent, he closely trailed Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) at 17 percent and Biden at 18 percent.