Pete Buttigiegand his husband,Chasten, want kids — and sometime soon — but he just has to get throughthe 2020 presidential electionand maybe be elected commander-in-chief first.

But then after!

“I obviously threw a wrench in our short-term plans,” Buttigieg, the 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, tells PEOPLE a little wryly. “No matter what happens, I think the next chapter in our personal lives is going to be about kids.”

Buttigieg made history last year becoming the first major openly gay candidate for a political party. Hevery narrowly wonthe Democratic caucus in Iowa last week andvery narrowly lostin New Hampshire’s primary on Tuesday (though he tied in delegates won with Sen.Bernie Sanders).

Twelve months ago, he was basically unknown to America. Should he continue his wins — a steep challenge while facing Sanders and others — he could be the first gay president, making Chasten the first “first man.”

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Chasten (left) and Pete Buttigieg.Matt Rourke/AP/Shutterstock

Mayor Pete Buttigieg, right, and his husband Chasten Buttigieg acknowledge the audience at the end of a campaign event, in Milford, N.H Election 2020 Pete Buttigieg, Milford, USA - 10 Feb 2020

“I’d say it’s now a minority of my meals that are even at a table versus a vehicle or standing up,” Buttigieg says. “You miss that: time spent with friends, just the basics of life. I’ve traded it for this exhilarating, exhausting, wonderful, demanding reality, but it’s just not normal life.”

Chasten, a 30-year-old middle-school teacher, is often on the campaign trail, too. They text and make a point to talk on the phone. If everything matches up, they FaceTime with their dogs, Buddy and Truman.

Pete (left) and Chasten Buttigieg in Iowa in January.Chuck Kennedy

Pete Buttigieg

Justin Sullivan/Getty

Democratic presidential candidate former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg (L) greets a baby during a campaign event on January 29, 2020 in Webster City, Iowa. Iowa holds the state’s caucuses in five days on February 3.

As one of the few childless candidates in the Democratic field, the subject of kids does come up from time to time. Last year,Buttigieg saidhe and Chasten’s discussions about imminent parenting meant he had a “personal stake” in how to expand paid parental leave.

Buttigieg tells PEOPLE now he’s “really excited” about fatherhood and “Chasten is just especially wired to be a great parent.”

“We would hope to do [it] soon,” Buttigieg says. “One way or the other.”

source: people.com