Whatever the final results show, Pete Buttigieg has made history in the Iowa caucuses.

The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, on Monday night became the first openly gay candidate in American history to earn presidential primary delegates toward a major party's nomination process.

The force of the news was slightly diluted as the Iowa Democratic Party botched the release of its caucus results. Party officials cited problems with the app it used to report precinct results.

Buttigieg had a narrow lead in the delegate count with nearly 71% of precincts reporting as of 11 p.m. Tuesday.

Before any results were available, Buttigieg on Monday night seemed to understand what he had achieved. At his caucus watch party in Des Moines, he called his husband, Chasten, the "future first gentleman of the United States." The two later hugged on stage.

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Emotional, historical results

From New Hampshire on Tuesday, Buttigieg became visibly emotional talking about the preliminary results.

“It validates for a kid, somewhere in a community, wondering if he belongs, or she belongs, or they belong in their own family, that if you believe in yourself and your country, there’s a lot backing up that belief,” he said.

In the final days before the Iowa caucuses, Buttigieg had leaned on the historic nature of his candidacy. The 38-year-old would also be the youngest president, if elected.

“So, are you ready to make history one more time?” he said to an estimated 2,000 people at his final rally Sunday in Des Moines.

Buttigieg reminded Iowans that he was in Iowa roughly 12 years ago to knock doors for Barack Obama when the nation’s first black president was making his bid for the White House.

“I saw Iowa change what America thought was possible on caucus night,” Buttigieg recalled Saturday in Waterloo.

Buttigieg said he also remembered watching from afar in 2009 when the Iowa Supreme Court ruled in 2009 to uphold same-sex marriages. The consequential decision paved the way for a 2015 ruling in the U.S. Supreme Court.

“You all changed what people … thought was possible once again, and gave someone like me permission to believe that one day I would be able to wear this wedding ring,” Buttigieg told the Waterloo crowd. “… You did that.”

The afternoon before caucus night, Buttigieg explained to the Des Moines Register why he chose to highlight his identity as a gay man in his closing remarks to Iowans.

“Some of the people I’m meeting remind me of it, and share what it means to them,” he said. “And the other thing I’ve been reflecting on ... is how fitting that is for Iowa, this state that I think … by the nature of the caucus process, and the way that it works each of us candidates over, also has a way of surprising people and making things possible that just wouldn’t be in the national race."

Buttigieg continued: "Where, if you had something about you that was different or historic, it might be reduced to a curiosity, instead of the part of your story that I think the people here in Iowa, who have come to know me well, know that it is.”

Barbara Rodriguez covers health care and politics for the Register. She can be reached by email at bcrodriguez@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8011. Follow her on Twitter @bcrodriguez.

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