With the newly-elected 52nd district congressman Scott Peters seated less than a year and primaries for the 2014 race still months away, former city councilman and failed mayoral candidate Carl DeMaio’s campaign to return Democrat Peters’ seat to Republican hands (Peters defeated Republican incumbent Brian Bilbray following statewide redistricting in 2012) is well underway.
Over the weekend, DeMaio secured the endorsement of the Log Cabin Republicans, representing the largest contingent of the country’s conservative LGBT voters.
“The people of California need a reform-minded, new generation Republican to represent them in Congress, and I can think of no one who fits that bill better than Carl: a successful businessman, a proven leader, and a fine example of a strong gay conservative,” said Log Cabin national executive director Gregory T. Angelo in a release.
DeMaio first announced his candidacy in May, touting a poll showing early support and getting an early start on the fundraising circuit.
“Last year Peters and his union cronies tried to make the LGBT Community believe that Carl did not support marriage equality,”said Susan Jeste, head of the Log Cabin Republicans of San Diego County in the San Diego Gay and Lesbian News, a publication run by DeMaio’s longtime partner Jonathan Hale. “Why? To win re-election [Peters was a first-time candidate for the office], to keep the power so they can continue to line their pockets with your tax dollars.”
DeMaio still appears to face an uphill battle in winning over the gay community in San Diego.
“Angered by his reticence on gay issues and his acceptance of campaign donations from backers of Proposition 8, California’s 2008 ban on same-sex marriage, parts of the crowd booed Mr. DeMaio at a mayoral debate... He was booed again as he walked hand in hand with his partner in [the 2012] gay pride parade,” reminds an October 2012 New York Times article.
With the newly-elected 52nd district congressman Scott Peters seated less than a year and primaries for the 2014 race still months away, former city councilman and failed mayoral candidate Carl DeMaio’s campaign to return Democrat Peters’ seat to Republican hands (Peters defeated Republican incumbent Brian Bilbray following statewide redistricting in 2012) is well underway.
Over the weekend, DeMaio secured the endorsement of the Log Cabin Republicans, representing the largest contingent of the country’s conservative LGBT voters.
“The people of California need a reform-minded, new generation Republican to represent them in Congress, and I can think of no one who fits that bill better than Carl: a successful businessman, a proven leader, and a fine example of a strong gay conservative,” said Log Cabin national executive director Gregory T. Angelo in a release.
DeMaio first announced his candidacy in May, touting a poll showing early support and getting an early start on the fundraising circuit.
“Last year Peters and his union cronies tried to make the LGBT Community believe that Carl did not support marriage equality,”said Susan Jeste, head of the Log Cabin Republicans of San Diego County in the San Diego Gay and Lesbian News, a publication run by DeMaio’s longtime partner Jonathan Hale. “Why? To win re-election [Peters was a first-time candidate for the office], to keep the power so they can continue to line their pockets with your tax dollars.”
DeMaio still appears to face an uphill battle in winning over the gay community in San Diego.
“Angered by his reticence on gay issues and his acceptance of campaign donations from backers of Proposition 8, California’s 2008 ban on same-sex marriage, parts of the crowd booed Mr. DeMaio at a mayoral debate... He was booed again as he walked hand in hand with his partner in [the 2012] gay pride parade,” reminds an October 2012 New York Times article.