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Colorado 9-Year-Old Tells Pete Buttigieg He's Gay, Candidate Commends Him For 'Bravery'

DENVER (CBS4) - Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg's Saturday night rally at the Crowne Plaza Denver Airport Convention Center started as most do.

"I just might have to come to Denver more often!" said Buttigieg to the adoring crowd. "You're making me feel pretty good."

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The candidate then cycled through his carefully planned stump speech, each point punctuated by cheers from the crowd.

"I am here to make the case for a politics that invites everyone in, instead of saying it's my way or the highway," he said.

At the end of the night, the candidate took questions from audience members drawn from a bowl.

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Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold was called on to read the questions.

"The next question comes from Zachary, aged 9," she declared before reading on.

"He says, 'Thank you for being so brave, would you help me tell the world I'm gay too? I want to be brave like you.'"

Buttigieg then invites the young man to join him on the stage.

The chants of "Love is love!" from the crowd seem to propel Zachary Ro onto the stage.

"I don't think you need a lot of advice from me on bravery," Buttigieg said to cheers from the crowd. "You seem pretty strong."

Buttigieg then took a moment to share advise with young Zachary.

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"I was afraid that who I was might mean that I could never make a difference and what wound up happening instead is that it's a huge part of the difference I get to make. I never could have seen that coming and you'll never know whose life you might be affecting right now, just by standing here. Right now. There's a lot of power in that," he said.

He finished with a message of hope and solidarity.

"Even if I can't promise it will always be easy, I can promise you that I'm going to be rooting for you and I think there's a whole bunch of people here who are going to be rooting you every step of the way," he said.

RELATED: Buttigieg In Denver: 'I Am Here To Make The Case'

Watch the full question and answer between Pete Buttigieg and Zachary Ro.

RELATED: CBS4 Campaign 2020 Coverage

Campaign 2020 Resources

See a list of important dates in Colorado's 2020 election cycle.

Register to vote through the Colorado Secretary of State's office.

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