Analysis: Elections Affect LGBTs In Overnight Change To Lame Duck Session

Tonight Senator-elect Dan Coates of Indiana won election to return to the Senate.  He formerly held the junior senator seat from Indiana when Dan Quayle became Vice-President of the U.S. with George H.W. Bush in 1988.  Coates is a hostile opponent to LGBT rights and led the Republican effort in 1993 against the DADT “compromise” language, saying there was no reason to change the policy that stated “homosexuality was incompatible with military service.”  So for all those who are watching these returns roll-in, beware of a returning bigot, who will have ten years of seniority, when he assumes his seat in January.  Also expect him to ask for a seat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, which can have a direct impact on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal. During the second George W. Bush Administration, Coats served as U.S. Ambassador to Germany.

Overnight three Senate seats will change–Chris Coons has won in Delaware, defeating Christine O’Donnell, Tea Party affiliate and endorsed by Sarah Palin.  Former West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin will be sworn in tomorrow morning to fill the late Robert Byrd’s seat.  Manchin, a conservative Democrat is not likely to be a friendly politician to gay concerns like the effort to repeal DADT which advocates are gearing up for a vote in the Lame Duck session which officially begins tomorrow.  I hope that Servicemembers United, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network and the Human Rights Campaign have West Virginia supporters and vets ready to lobby Manchin for his support on a DADT repeal vote.  Right now, Alexi Giannoulias, the Democratic nominee for Barack Obama’s seat is leading conservative Republican Mark Kirk.  Giannoulias is likely to support DADT repeal, but not Kirk, a military veteran.  We will have to wait to see.  But these three seats change overnight in the U.S. Senate and will participate in the Lame Duck session that advocates are pinning their hopes on a DADT repeal vote.

It is likely to be a long night and the Alaska Senate race will not likely be known for several days.  President Barack Obama will give a press conference tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET.  This is not only going to be an interesting night, but the next several days and weeks are likely to be agonizing for progressives in the LGBT community.

Tanya L. Domi is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, who teaches about human rights in Eurasia and is a Harriman Institute affiliated faculty member. Prior to teaching at Columbia, Domi worked internationally for more than a decade on issues related to democratic transitional development, including political and media development, human rights, gender issues, sex trafficking, and media freedom.