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These 3 Gay Republicans Are Running for Congress -- and the national party is backing them.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/09/meet-gay-republicans-running-congressIn late March, Richard Tisei, a Republican candidate for Congress in Massachusetts, took an unusual step for a politician in a close race: He boycotted his own party's convention.
The state GOP had added language to its platform opposing same-sex marriage, which has been legal in Massachusetts for a decade. The party's decision put Tisei in a tricky spot: He's a married, openly gay man. "I thought it was important for somebody to stand up and say the party is heading in the wrong direction," Tisei told Mother Jones. "At a time when progress is being made, it wasn't a good idea for Massachusetts to take a step backwards."
Tisei, a former state senator, is one of three openly gay Republicans challenging incumbent US House members this year. He's running unopposed in Tuesday's GOP primary in Massachusetts' 6th District. Dan Innis, a former dean of the business school at the University of New Hampshire, is running in New Hampshire's 1st District; his primary is also Tuesday. And Carl DeMaio, a former member of the San Diego city council, won the Republican primary in California's 52nd District in June.
Each of the three challengers has a decent chance of becoming the first openly gay Republican to be elected to Congress. The nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report ranks DeMaio's race against freshman Democrat Scott Peters as a "pure toss-up." Innis' race, against Dem Carol Shea Porter, is listed as "toss-up/tilt Democrat." So is Tisei's race—although Tisei's chances could fall Tuesday if his presumptive opponent, scandal-plagued incumbent John Tierney, loses in the Democratic primary.
The state GOP had added language to its platform opposing same-sex marriage, which has been legal in Massachusetts for a decade. The party's decision put Tisei in a tricky spot: He's a married, openly gay man. "I thought it was important for somebody to stand up and say the party is heading in the wrong direction," Tisei told Mother Jones. "At a time when progress is being made, it wasn't a good idea for Massachusetts to take a step backwards."
Tisei, a former state senator, is one of three openly gay Republicans challenging incumbent US House members this year. He's running unopposed in Tuesday's GOP primary in Massachusetts' 6th District. Dan Innis, a former dean of the business school at the University of New Hampshire, is running in New Hampshire's 1st District; his primary is also Tuesday. And Carl DeMaio, a former member of the San Diego city council, won the Republican primary in California's 52nd District in June.
Each of the three challengers has a decent chance of becoming the first openly gay Republican to be elected to Congress. The nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report ranks DeMaio's race against freshman Democrat Scott Peters as a "pure toss-up." Innis' race, against Dem Carol Shea Porter, is listed as "toss-up/tilt Democrat." So is Tisei's race—although Tisei's chances could fall Tuesday if his presumptive opponent, scandal-plagued incumbent John Tierney, loses in the Democratic primary.
Three of them?!
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