Political groups want more LGBT conservatives to run

Minnesota State Sen. Paul Koering, an openly gay Republican who was defeated in a primary election Tuesday, said yesterday he wasquitting the GOP and politics.  Koering is one of just three openly gay Republican state legislators currently in office, all of whom are set to leave their seats at the end of this year.  Among the other two, Massachusetts State Sen. Richard Tisei is his party’s nominee for lieutenant governor, while California State Sen. Roy Ashburn is leaving due to term limits.

The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund has endorsed just two out Republicans for state house seats so far this cycle, but the group’s deputy political director, James Dozier, said more may be in the pipeline for endorsement soon.

A Republican whose experience in gay politics includes stints with the Log Cabin Republicans and Gill Action, Dozier says the Victory Fund is reaching out to LGBT conservatives to make sure they understand there are resources available to help them win election to public office.

So why are there so few openly LGBT Republicans in elective office?

“It’s been difficult for gay conservatives who want to run because often times their party really doesn’t know what to do with them.  In some places party leaders fight to keep them off the ballot, and in others they treat them like sacrificial lambs, putting them up to run for seats they just can’t win,” said Dozier.  ”But we’re trying to reach out to conservatives and let them know we can train them to plan for and run effective campaigns anyway.  They can make a huge difference in their party caucuses, but not unless they have a seat at the table.”

Dozier points to Tisei’s work in the Massachusetts Senate, where as minority leader he was able to get a majority of the Republican caucus to vote against a constitutional amendment to ban marriage for same-sex couples.  ”If you’re in the room, you can have a lot more influence on how your colleagues approach an issue,” said Dozier.

Dan Hill is a Victory Fund-endorsed candidate for the Nevada House of Representatives who’s running against a Democratic incumbent.  The young conservative is betting that voters are ready for change in a district where home foreclosure rates are some of the highest in the country.  ”Dan represents the future of the party.  Younger conservatives are focused almost exclusively on fiscal issues, not the tired old social issues that have dominated GOP politics for decades now.  But if he’s elected, when LGBT issues do come up in the Nevada legislature, Dan could be in the Republican caucus room challenging his colleagues to stick to truly conservative values and stay out of our private lives,” said Dozier.

New energy among conservatives nationally has also meant an energized gay conservative movement.  One group making waves this week for extending a speaking invitation to arch-conservative rabble rouser Ann Coulter is the relatively new GOProud, which says it represents gay conservatives and their allies.  Executive Director Jimmy LaSalvia believes recruiting more out conservatives to run is important.  ”It ought to be a priority for gay conservatives to recruit more conservatives to run for office including other gay conservatives. Ideology is more important than identity politics. The challenge gay conservatives face is that they are often labeled liberal simply because they are gay. Being gay is not synonymous with being pro-abortion, pro-big government, pro-socialized medicine, etc.,” LaSalvia told Gay Politics.

Though the Victory Fund only endorses openly LGBT candidates who support reproductive rights for women, regardless of party, Dozier said the training offered by the Gay & Lesbian Leadership Institute is for any LGBT person considering running for office or working for someone who is.  ”Ideology, political party, issue positions–none of those should keep anyone from taking advantage of the really excellent Candidate and Campaign Training program we offer.  It helps you decide whether you even want to run, what races are appropriate for you, and then gives you a solid foundation to build a campaign plan,” said Dozier.  The Victory Fund and theLeadership Institute are separate organizations that share a staff and office space.

Republican politicos and other luminaries such as Meghan McCain, Dick Cheney, Laura Bush, Margaret Hoover, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ted Olson have been advocating for a thaw in their party’s relationship with the LGBT community.  ”As the Republican Party continues to move towards the rest of America in its acceptance of LGBT rights, having more LGBT GOP elected officials will help speed the process and counter those who would work legislatively against us and politically to suppress our voice,” said Charles Moran, Vice-Chair of the California Log Cabin Republicans, in a statement sent to Gay Politics.

It’s possible that groups like the Victory Fund, Log Cabin Republicans and GOProud can seize on a remarkable shift toward public acceptance of gays and lesbians to convince out conservatives that voters will support them