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Gay Candidates Rack Up More Wins


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Gay Candidates Rack Up More Wins

by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff

August 9, 2006 - 1:00 pm ET

(Washington) While much of the nation was focused on the defeat of Senator Joe Lieberman in the Democratic primary in Connecticut LGBT candidates were quietly racking up victories in other parts of the country on Tuesday.

In Missouri, Jolie Justus won the Democratic primary for state senate. The win is likely to translate into victory at the polls in November when she meets the GOP candidate. The district is considered safe for Democrats.

It would make Jolie the first lesbian in the Missouri Senate. She would join fellow lesbian Jeanette Mott-Oxford, who won easily won her primary to retain her seat in the Missouri State House.

Jolie's victory is just one of several LGBT primary wins this year.

Last month LGBT activist Patricia Todd is poised to become the first openly gay member of the Alabama House following her primary win over Gaynell Hendricks. There is no Republican challenger but Hendricks' mother-in-law has asked the Democratic party to investigate what she calls irregularities in the primary. (story).

Al McAffrey won his Oklahoma House Democratic primary in a district that includes downtown Oklahoma City. With no Republican challenger automatically gains the seat.

Kathy Webb was elected to the state house in Arkansas - the first out lesbian to serve in that body.

"In Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma and now Missouri, excellent candidates are winning historic races," said Chuck Wolfe, President and CEO of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, which raises money to help LGBT campaigns.

"Jolie's win is a testament to her courage, commitment and skill, but it also confirms that fair-minded voters everywhere care more about good government than they do about whether their representatives are gay or lesbian," said Wolfe.

There were, however, some defeats. Allen Thornell, who was vying for a seat in the Georgia State House, narrowly lost his runoff election for the Democratic primary on Tuesday.

Last month, Rhonda Rudd, a lesbian candidate seeking the Democratic nomination to run for the Oklahoma State Senate lost her race to a Democratic Party insider.

©365Gay.com 2006

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