Last February, during the highly-contentious attempt to bring marriage equality to Illinois, the Senate was able to pass a same-sex marriage bill, but at the very last moment, the sponsor of the House bill pulled it. There just weren’t enough votes. Then, in November, after much work, the bill passed, thanks in part to the votes of three Republican lawmakers.
Despite a lot of money and attack ads from the National Organization For Marriage and Illinois Family Action (see image above) against those three GOP Reps., last night all three won their primary races.
That’s a big deal. It gives cover to Republicans in other states who want to vote for equality but might be too scared to do so.
“State Rep. Tom Cross (R) cruised to a 14-point victory in the primary for state treasurer while state Rep. Ed Sullivan (R) easily won renomination in his district,” the Washington Post reports. “The third, state Rep. Ron Sandack (R), narrowly edged out his opponent by fewer than 200 votes, according to an unofficial tally. The close margin could mean the race goes to a recount. Sandack and Sullivan both faced pressure from third-party groups looking to oust them over their gay marriage votes. In Sandack’s case, the issue became a central focus.”
Just two days ago, the Huffington Post reported the three Republicans “are now fighting for their political lives.”
HuffPo wrote that “Sandack was targeted this month by a mailer sent out by a group called Illinois Family Action claiming, ‘You can kiss the GOP goodbye with officials who vote like Democrats’Â next to an image of two men kissing, the Chicago Tribune reports.”
The IFA group has also targeted representatives Ed Sullivan Jr., running for reelection in Mundelein, and Tom Cross, who is running for state treasurer, with ads criticizingtheir votes for same-sex marriage.
Another mailer targeting Sandack from radio talk show host Dan Proft’s Liberty Principles PAC features a photo of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel wearing a leotard next to a message reading, “Now we know where Ron Sandack learned how to dance,” according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The PAC is spending $13,500 on the Sandack attack ads, the AP reports.
Illinois Family Action is the political arm of the Illinois Family Institute, which is affiliated with the anti-gay hate groups American Family Association, and the Liberty Counsel, and the anti-gay group Alliance Defending Freedom.
Same-sex marriage support is not a pink slip for Republicans, and almost never has been.
Image:Â Illinois Family Action via Facebook