It is more than likely that the current three-person LGBT congressional delegation will have a few more members come 2011 as a dozen out candidates are seeking congressional seats this year.
In a positive sign for the viability of several candidates' campaigns, the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund has endorsed six of the House candidates. The national group only backs those LGBT candidates deemed to have credible chances of winning their races, and the endorsement allows them to tap into the group's nationwide donor network.
In addition to the three Democratic incumbents seeking re-election to the House this year – Barney Frank (Massachusetts), Tammy Baldwin (Wisconsin), and Jared Polis (Colorado) – the Victory Fund also endorsed three gay men looking to join them on Capitol Hill.
In California, Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet won the group's backing in his race for the state's 45th Congressional District. Pougnet ran unopposed in the June Democratic primary and will take on incumbent GOP Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack this fall.
Providence Mayor David Cicilline picked up the group's endorsement in his four-way race to be the Democratic nominee for Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District. Next week state Democratic Party leaders will open their convention to select who the party's favored candidate will be in the September 14 primary.
Cicilline's biggest opponent in the race to succeed Representative Patrick Kennedy appears to be Bill Lynch>, a former state Democratic Party chairman in Rhode Island. But Cicilline had outpaced Lynch in fundraising according to the latest disclosures in April, and he is considered a heavy favorite to not only best his primary opponents but also to keep the House seat in Democratic hands.
The third gay candidate winning Victory Fund support is Scott Galvin, a North Miami Beach city councilman who is running in a crowded Democratic primary set for August 24 to represent Florida's 17th Congressional District. With nine people in the race, it is anyone's guess who will come out on top.
But in a twist, Galvin's being a white, gay man may give him an advantage. He is running against several African American candidates in a district with a heavy concentration of black voters, and pundits have speculated they could split their vote enough to allow Galvin to eke out a victory.
The district is considered a safe one for Democrats, so whoever wins the party primary is expected to easily capture the seat in November.
There are five other House races with out candidates this year, but none have gained the Victory Fund's support as of yet.
Three of the contests are being waged by gay Democrats. In New Jersey, Ed Potosnak ran unopposed in his party primary in his bid to unseat Republican Congressman Leonard Lance in the state's 7th Congressional District. Potosnak is a former aide to the South Bay's longtime Democratic Congressman Mike Honda.
Scott Withers, a former gay television host from Dallas, Texas, is trying to unseat 80-year-old Michigan Congressman Dale E. Kildee, who has served in the House since 1977. The two will face-off in the party primary August 2 for the state's 5th Congressional District seat.
Cattle rancher and former Mister Missouri Gay Rodeo titleholder Clint Hylton is one of two Democrats running in the August 3 primary in order to unseat GOP Congressman Sam Graves from Missouri's 6th Congressional District seat this fall. Graves has spent the last decade in Washington, D.C. and is expected to easily win another term.
On the Republican side, in South Florida Donna Milo, a Cuban American transgender woman, is running in the Republican primary for the state's 20th Congressional District.
Milo, who opposes same-sex marriage and is a Tea Party member, is running against two other GOPers to take on incumbent Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz in the fall.
Another Republican, Field Reichardt, falls on the centrist side of his party and is running in a crowded field to be the GOP nominee to seek Michigan's 2nd Congressional District seat. Whoever wins the Republican primary August 2 will likely easily win in the fall race to succeed Republican Congressman Pete Hoekstra, who is running to be his state's governor this year.
The one known out person running for a United States Senate seat is 32-year-old Mark Delphine, a Libertarian running against Oregon Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, the odds-on favorite to win the election come November.
Two other out congressional candidates ran but lost this year: Utah Democrat Claudia Wright failed to unseat Democratic Congressman Jim Matheson last Tuesday, while GOPer Matthew Berry came up short in his primary bid for a Northern Virginia House seat.
It is more than likely that the current three-person LGBT congressional delegation will have a few more members come 2011 as a dozen out candidates are seeking congressional seats this year.
In a positive sign for the viability of several candidates' campaigns, the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund has endorsed six of the House candidates. The national group only backs those LGBT candidates deemed to have credible chances of winning their races, and the endorsement allows them to tap into the group's nationwide donor network.
In addition to the three Democratic incumbents seeking re-election to the House this year – Barney Frank (Massachusetts), Tammy Baldwin (Wisconsin), and Jared Polis (Colorado) – the Victory Fund also endorsed three gay men looking to join them on Capitol Hill.
In California, Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet won the group's backing in his race for the state's 45th Congressional District. Pougnet ran unopposed in the June Democratic primary and will take on incumbent GOP Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack this fall.
Providence Mayor David Cicilline picked up the group's endorsement in his four-way race to be the Democratic nominee for Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District. Next week state Democratic Party leaders will open their convention to select who the party's favored candidate will be in the September 14 primary.
Cicilline's biggest opponent in the race to succeed Representative Patrick Kennedy appears to be Bill Lynch class=vitstorybody>, a former state Democratic Party chairman in Rhode Island. But Cicilline had outpaced Lynch in fundraising according to the latest disclosures in April, and he is considered a heavy favorite to not only best his primary opponents but also to keep the House seat in Democratic hands.
The third gay candidate winning Victory Fund support is Scott Galvin, a North Miami Beach city councilman who is running in a crowded Democratic primary set for August 24 to represent Florida's 17th Congressional District. With nine people in the race, it is anyone's guess who will come out on top.
But in a twist, Galvin's being a white, gay man may give him an advantage. He is running against several African American candidates in a district with a heavy concentration of black voters, and pundits have speculated they could split their vote enough to allow Galvin to eke out a victory.
The district is considered a safe one for Democrats, so whoever wins the party primary is expected to easily capture the seat in November.
There are five other House races with out candidates this year, but none have gained the Victory Fund's support as of yet.
Three of the contests are being waged by gay Democrats. In New Jersey, Ed Potosnak ran unopposed in his party primary in his bid to unseat Republican Congressman Leonard Lance in the state's 7th Congressional District. Potosnak is a former aide to the South Bay's longtime Democratic Congressman Mike Honda.
Scott Withers, a former gay television host from Dallas, Texas, is trying to unseat 80-year-old Michigan Congressman Dale E. Kildee, who has served in the House since 1977. The two will face-off in the party primary August 2 for the state's 5th Congressional District seat.
Cattle rancher and former Mister Missouri Gay Rodeo titleholder Clint Hylton is one of two Democrats running in the August 3 primary in order to unseat GOP Congressman Sam Graves from Missouri's 6th Congressional District seat this fall. Graves has spent the last decade in Washington, D.C. and is expected to easily win another term.
On the Republican side, in South Florida Donna Milo, a Cuban American transgender woman, is running in the Republican primary for the state's 20th Congressional District.
Milo, who opposes same-sex marriage and is a Tea Party member, is running against two other GOPers to take on incumbent Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz in the fall.
Another Republican, Field Reichardt, falls on the centrist side of his party and is running in a crowded field to be the GOP nominee to seek Michigan's 2nd Congressional District seat. Whoever wins the Republican primary August 2 will likely easily win in the fall race to succeed Republican Congressman Pete Hoekstra, who is running to be his state's governor this year.
The one known out person running for a United States Senate seat is 32-year-old Mark Delphine, a Libertarian running against Oregon Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, the odds-on favorite to win the election come November.
Two other out congressional candidates ran but lost this year: Utah Democrat Claudia Wright failed to unseat Democratic Congressman Jim Matheson last Tuesday, while GOPer Matthew Berry came up short in his primary bid for a Northern Virginia House seat.
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