Roughly half of voters in a new poll say they are ready for a gay or lesbian president, though they are less optimistic about whether the U.S. as a whole is ready for one.

The Politico-Morning Consult survey found that 50 percent of respondents said they were definitely or probably ready to have an openly gay president, with 37 percent saying they are either definitely or probably not ready.

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When the voters were asked whether they believed the U.S. is ready for an openly gay president, only 40 percent said they believed it is, compared to 44 percent who said the country is not ready.

Roughly a quarter of respondents said they believed their neighbors were ready for a gay president, while 46 percent said their neighbors were either definitely or probably not ready for a gay president.

The findings come as South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg Pete ButtigiegBillionaire who donated to Trump in 2016 donates to Biden The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - GOP closes ranks to fill SCOTUS vacancy by November Buttigieg stands in as Pence for Harris's debate practice MORE, the first serious presidential contender who is openly gay, trails three challengers in the 2020 Democratic primary, according to a RealClearPolitics average of recent polling.

Tyler Sinclair, Morning Consult's vice president, told Politico that the survey’s findings reveal Buttigieg’s sexuality “may be an issue for some voters as he remains in contention for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.”

“Notably, 58 percent of Republicans, 32 percent of independents and 22 percent of Democrats say they aren’t ready for a gay or lesbian president. The comparative figures not ready for a female president are 36 percent of Republicans, 15 percent of independents and 8 percent of Democrats.”

The poll was conducted between Oct. 25-28 and surveyed 1,997 registered voters. It has a margin of sampling error of 2 percentage points.