LGBT Donors & Aggregating Resources in the Mid-Term Elections
I’m sure many of you summer in Ogunquit – in fact I know many of you do. You’ve followed Barney and others up north and made southern Maine your little slice of gay paradise.
However, in the rest of the state, conservative politics are still very much in play.
One of those people endeavoring to change the politics of Maine is Congressman Michael Michaud who is running for Governor. If he wins, he will be first openly gay Governor elected in the U.S. (I don’t count the guy from New Jersey who was only elected when he was closeted.) MassEquality and Equality Maine veteran Matt McTighe is also heading up Michaud’s campaign and brings a wealth of campaign knowledge with him.
The Victory Fund, HRC, LPAC, Equality Maine all endorsed Michaud’s campaign, as well as progressive groups, labor, and – well – anyone with a liberal pulse.
Why? Because, Michaud has a tough road to victory against Tea Partier incumbent Governor Paul LePage. LePage rode a wave of Tea Party fervor into office four years ago replacing outgoing Democratic Governor John Baldacci. LePage then ushered forth the typical Republican playbook of public policy over the past four years – refusing to expand Medicaid under Obamacare, slashing public assistance, railing against Common Core, and campaigning against the 2012 ballot question legalizing gay marriage, and, despite all of this, he is still widely popular in the state.
Currently, the polls are showing the two running neck and neck.
So, the gays are rallying around the gay man who is taking on the homophobe, Tea Partier, right?
Well, not really.
A recent Politico article, Gay Donors Missing History in Maine, details the fact that the nation’s major LGBT donors and bundlers are not putting money into Michaud’s campaign coffers.
The article points to the LGBT major donors in Hollywood and D.C. skipping on donating to Michaud and that only one major national LGBT donor, Tim Gill of the Gill Foundation, and one member of the HRC’s Board of Directors have ponied up for gubernatorial candidate. It does praise the Victory Fund for pushing hard for Michaud among its donors – he is on their “Top 5” list in recent fundraising pushes.
From the Politico article:
“For all the formal endorsements he has collected in his quest for the governorship, Michaud has been conspicuously shortchanged by many of the wealthiest and most influential gay donors in Democratic politics. Far from becoming a pathbreaking cause célèbre, he has plainly not enjoyed the overpowering financial support of the community that helped fuel President Barack Obama’s reelection in 2012 and made Wisconsin Democrat Tammy Baldwin the first openly gay senator in history.”
Why?
The author speculated that basically state political races are not a priority for these major donors, and that they are instead concentrated on federal races. This runs counter to the efforts of major donors for conservative, Republican candidates that concentrate on not only federal but also local and state races.
The Politico article comes at an interesting time, as we are five weeks away from the November elections.
It does show a few of things.
- LGBT donors are an obvious major force in elections and people are paying attention to whom they do and do not donate;
- The LGBT vote is something that both parties are paying attention to because the LGBT community is an organized community with a high voting rate;
- LGBT donors are fickle.
So, why are these donors leaving Michaud in the lurch? His opponent, Paul LePage, is the egregious homophobe, the likes of whom the LGBT community loves to defeat. So what’s up in Maine?
Could it be because Michaud didn’t “come out” until he wanted to run for Governor?
He spent a decade in Congress and was President of the Maine Senate beforehand all while in the closet – though many say it was an open secret. Does this fact turn donors off? Maybe.
Could it be because people think Maine is backwards and too remote and therefore they don’t care who is Governor? This could be very true for the Hollywood/DC set and other urban LGBT major donors – rural is so last century. However, to have a gay man win the governorship of a rural state is a beautiful thing and a great precedent.
Could it be because gay marriage is legal in Maine, so its Governor’s race is less important than other states that we are still fighting for marriage in?
This could be true as well. In the midst of the battle for control of Congress, and with the state-by-state fight to legalize gay marriage ongoing, one does have to aggregate his or her resources.
So, who is getting the money?
If Michaud is not getting the money, then which candidates are?
MASSACHUSETTS
In Massachusetts, LGBT donors are pouring money into the coffers of Gubernatorial Candidate Martha Coakley, Lt. Governor candidate Steve Kerrigan Attorney General candidate Maura Healey, and Republican Congressional candidate, Richard Tisei.
Why? Several factors.
Kerrigan is a major player in the Democratic National Committee having been in charge of the 2012 National Convention in Charlotte and the second Obama inauguration. He has national reach to LGBT donors.
Coakley and Healey helped argue against DOMA, along with GLAD, all the way to the Supreme Court. This fact has helped them both become a cause celebre in the legal community, the progressive community, and especially the national LGBT donor community. Also, thanks to big pushes by the Victory Fund and LPAC (Lesbian PAC), they have gotten the word out about Healey to major donors.
Richard Tisei is also garnering a lot of LGBT national donors in his campaign coffers. He could be the first gay Republican Congressman. This is very attractive to many LGBT donors who are socially liberal but fiscally conservative. Around the country, moderate to conservative LGBT donors are paying attention to Tisei’s candidacy and supporting it with donations.
NATIONWIDE:
Pro-LGBT Federal Candidates:
LGBT power brokers and political organizations are pushing hard for LGBT donors to give their money to LGBT friendly candidates, and the PACs that are supporting them, in the hopes of keeping them in their seats.
Why? So we can continue to push forward positive legislation like ENDA (without religious exemptions) – and perhaps even help set the stage in Congress for a positive reaction in case the Supreme Court takes up one of the numerous gay marriage cases and rules in our favor.
Here is a cross section of the straight allies that the HRC are trying to protect and elect:
- Sen. Kay Hagan (North Carolina) – This first time Senator came out publicly in support of gay marriage and has a 100% voting record with the HRC. She is currently in a heated battle for re-election against the Tom Tillis, the NC Speaker of the House. Latest polls say they are tied but Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper, is stilling saying the race is “tilting Democrat.”
- Sen. Mark Begich (Alaska) – This first-time Senator is from the conservative frontier but votes the right way on LGBT issues since taking office on 2008. He has a 100% rating with the HRC. Begich’s Republican opponent, Dan Sullivan, supports an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to ban gay marriage – and the race is close! Begich won in 2008 by less than 4000 votes and Roll Call is calling this a tossup race.
- Michelle Nunn (Georgia) – Michelle Nunn, daughter of former longtime Georgia U. S. Senator Sam Nunn, is running in an open seat race that replaces retiring Republican conservative Senator Saxby Chambliss. Nunn supports equality for LGBT Americans, including marriage equality. Her opponent, Republican David Purdue, says, “Believing in the sanctity of marriage is a deeply held personal conviction. I will not waiver in defending it.” HRC has her on its top Elect Equality list for donors. Roll Call is saying that the race is “Favored Republican” but the latest polls are saying Perdue is only up 3.4%.
- Cong. Gary Peters (Michigan) – With the retirement of long-time Michigan liberal Senator Carl Levin, the race to be his replacement is a tight race. Peters is a staunch supporter of LGBT rights coming out for gay marriage in 2002. His Republican opponent, Terri Lynn Land, is a former Michigan Secretary of State. She also recently voted to include anti-LGBT, anti-marriage equality in the State’s Republican Party’s platform. Michigan is a key swing state in elections and Roll Call is saying the race is “Leaning Democrat,” but polling is showing a close race.
- Sen. Mark Udall (Colorado) – Colorado is a very purple state — despite the legalization of marijuana for recreational use. Udall is in a tough re-election campaign against Cong. Cory Gardner, a conservative Republican that represents Colorado’s 4th District and dubbed one of the “Republican Young Guns.” His District is also where the headquarters of Focus on the Family resides. Udall was a co-sponsor of ENDA and a leader in the successful fight to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Unlike Udall, Gardner opposed gay marriage, opposed the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and has earned a 0% on HRC’s scorecard. Gardner was a supporter of the Defense of Marriage Act, and even voted against allowing same-sex couples to jointly adopt children. Roll Call is saying this race is “Tilting Democrat” but polls are still saying Udall is one of the most endangered Senators up for re-election.
- Richard Hanna (New York) – Rep. Richard Hanna is a Republican House member from Upstate New York. Rep. Hanna signed on to a brief calling for the Supreme Court to affirm marriage equality, and is a cosponsor of a bill to fully repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. On issues of employment fairness and safe schools, Hanna has cosponsored pro-equality legislation to ban discrimination in the workplace and in education. Rep. Hanna is a target of major financial backers who vocally oppose marriage equality. Roll Call calls this race as a “Safe Republican” seat, but many want to ensure this two-term, pro-equality Republican safely lands back in Congress.
Endangered LGBT Congressional Caucus Members:
Arizona:
Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema is the first bisexual Congresswoman, elected in 2012, and represents a very purple Congressional District in Arizona. As an example of the area’s purpleness, this area voted for Romney in the 2012 Presidential but also elected Sinema over a conservative right-wing Republican opponent.
Cong. Sinema is in a tight race with a right-winger, Wendy Rogers who was deemed a “Young Gun” by the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee and is enjoying the proceeds of such a designation. Sinema’s campaign and the Victory Fund are pushing hard for money to go up on the air earlier than her opponent.
I received no less than five fundraising emails from her campaign in a three-day span this week and three from the Victory Fund in the same timeframe – so money is tight.
The Republicans see this as a “pick up” seat — so its high on their priority list – but they might be making a miscalculation because, though purple, it’s a center-left leaning district on social issues. This leaned in Sinema’s favor two years ago and by all accounts is staying that way. Roll Call is still favoring Sinema to retain the seat as of last week.
New York:
Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney is in his first term as the first openly gay Congressman from New York. He is in a tight race with former Congresswoman Nan Hayworth whom he beat two years ago to win the seat.
Hayworth has ads running on local stations sponsored by the right-leaning U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The Republicans also see this seat as a possible pick up because of Hayworth name recognition and clout. There is also a little known independent candidate in the race throwing a curve ball into everything.
Maloney is also high on the Victory Fund’s list to help for reelection and was featured in the “Top 5” in a recent fundraising email. Recent polling shows him up by 8 points over Hayworth – but again we are still six weeks away and anything can happen. Roll Call has the race as “Democrat Favored.”
California: Where the LGBT money ISN’T going
Carl Demaio, the openly gay Republican San Diego City Councilman, is running a good race against Democratic incumbent Congressman Scott Peters. However, as an exception to the rule, this LGBT candidate is NOT getting the LGBT political establishment or donors to support him.
This is an unusual race on many levels. Let’s see who backs DeMaio and who doesn’t.
HRC – No
Victory Fund – No
Log Cabin Republicans – No
U.S. Chamber of Commerce – No (What? Yes, they endorsed the Democratic incumbent)
Republican Congressional Campaign Committee – Yes
Americans for Prosperity – Yes (Issue advocacy group tied to the Koch brothers)
Crossroads GPS – Yes (Karl Rove’s issue advocacy group)
Both Rothenberg Political Report and Roll Call say this Congressional seat is a toss up and the Republicans have it targeted as a pick up.
The LGBT advocacy and political groups won’t touch this guy. Why?
He just came out, he didn’t speak out publicly against Prop 8 when it was on the ballot, and he seems a little shady on other LGBT legislative priorities.
The guy was even booed when he appeared at a local LGBT forum in 2012 when he ran for Mayor of San Diego. The Victory Fund didn’t endorse him then either.
However, it will be interesting to see what happens if he does pull off a victory. He could also be the first openly gay Republican in Congress. How will the LGBT political establishment deal with him then? Time will tell.
New York: Not Going Here Either
Sean Eldridge, an openly gay venture capitalist and the husband of Facebook founder Chris Hughes, is running to try to unseat Republican incumbent Cong. Chris Gipson.
Gibson came into office in 2010 with a weak LGBT rights record and defended “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy – though he was dubbed as one of the “most liberal Republicans” in Congress. Recently, he has pivoted left and is now a co-sponsor of the inclusive ENDA and the Safe School bills. However, he still seems not to support equal marriage.
So, why aren’t the LGBT politicos heavily promoting Eldridge against Gibson?
The latest polls have Eldridge 24 points (57% to 33%) down against Gibson. He might have a large self-financed war chest because of his personal wealth – but money doesn’t buy a win. Roll Call has this seat dubbed “Safely Republican.”
Sources say that people are aggregating their resources elsewhere. Candidates with their own cash are attractive to political parties and organizations in an age where a competitive House race can cost well over $1 million. Even if the candidate loses — and most do — self-financers allow parties to devote precious resources to other races.
Five-Week Countdown:
LGBT donors nationwide are paying attention to the calls and donating.
After a search of campaign contribution data at the Federal Election Commission (FEC) the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF), and the Maine Ethics Commission (MEC) for the period of 2013-2014, here are where some money is going by organizations and individual LGBT money power brokers:
The HRC PAC has given a combined total of over $780,000 to federal candidates over the last two years including:
- $30,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
- $20,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
- $5000+ to Sen. Kay Hagan
- $6000+ to Cong. Kyrsten Sinema
- $6000+ to Michelle Nunn
- $6000+ to Cong. Gary Peters
- $10,000 to the Promoting our Republican Friends PAC
- $6,000 to Cong. Richard Hanna
- $7,000 to Sean Eldridge for Congress
- $7,000 to Cong. Sean Maloney
- $7,000 to Sen. Mark Udall
- $8,000 to Sen. Mark Begich
Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund:
- $1500 to Michaud
- $5000 to Sean Eldridge for Congress
- $5000 to Cong. Sean Maloney
- $1000 to Richard Tisei for Congress
- $500 to Steve Kerrigan
LPAC:
- $1500 to Michaud
- Max to Coakley, Healey
Fred Eychane, one of the top LGBT Dem money men, has given over $7 million dollars to the above candidates and the PACs that are trying to keep a Democratic majority in the Senate including the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, the DNC, and the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee. He has not given to Michaud gubernatorial campaign.
Tim Gill, the inventor of QuarkXPress and founder of The Gill Foundation, has given $32,400 to the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee. Gill has also maxed ($2600) to Nunn, Begich, Udall, and Hagan. He has also donated the maximum, $1500, to Michaud’s gubernatorial campaign efforts.
Mitchell Gold, the furniture guy, lives in North Carolina and has maxed out to Sen. Kay Hagan, her PAC and the North Carolina Democratic Party. Additionally, he has given to Cong. Maloney and gave the DNC $15,000 in April. He has not given to Michaud gubernatorial campaign.
Locally, here are where some this region’s top LGBT donors’ money is going:
Bryan Rafanelli, the party planner extraordinaire, has donated a combined $37,100 dollars over this election season to federal races and PACs including a $5000 donation to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, $5000 to Elizabeth Warren’s PAC, Leveling the Playing Field and maxing to our local Congresspeople Cong. Joe Kennedy and Cong. Katherine Clark. Locally, Rafanelli has given $5000 to the MA Democratic State Party and has maxed ($500) to Coakley, Kerrigan and Healey and is hosting an LGBT fundraiser for Coakley and Kerrigan at the Rafanelli Events office on Boylston. He has not given to Michaud gubernatorial campaign.
Elyse Cherry, who sits on the Board of LPAC and runs real estate development agency Boston Community Capital, has given heavily to LPAC, on whose board she sits. She has also donated to Cong. Maloney’s reelection campaign and local Congressional delegation members Sen. Ed Markey, Cong. Nicki Tsongas and Cong. Katherine Clark. Locally, Cherry has maxed to Healey and held a fundraiser for her at her Brookline home. She has also maxed to Martha Coakley gubernatorial campaign and is co-hosting an LGBT fundraiser with Rafanelli for Coakley and Kerrigan. She has not given to Michaud gubernatorial campaign.
Patrick Guerriero, former MA Lt. Governor candidate with Jane Swift, founder of the Log Cabin Republican group, and current owner of The Civitas Group, DC consulting firm, has done quite a bit of bipartisan donating federally – to local Congresswoman Katherine Clark, Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s PAC The People’s Voice, and to Carl DeMaio and Cong. Richard Hanna’s campaign, an Republican LGBT ally who is on HRC’s top list for donors. According to FEC reports, he has not donated to Richard Tisei. He has not given to Michaud gubernatorial campaign.
Esmond Harmsworth, a major LGBT donor and literary agent, has donated a hefty sum to PAC promoting progressive candidates. Federally, he has donated $10000 to the CTE a Progressive Congress and another $5000 to Gov. Deval Patrick’s federal Together PAC. He has not given to any Massachusetts races as of the last OCPF filing and has not given to Michaud gubernatorial campaign.
Stan Zanarotti, a MassEquality Board member and LGBT major donor, has donated heavily to federal PACs promoting progressive candidates. He has donated over $20,000 this election cycle to federal candidates — $5000 dollars to both Sen. Warren’s PAC and Gov. Patrick’s PAC and maxed to Congressman Kennedy and donated to Cong. Maloney’s reelection efforts. Locally, Zanarotti has donated over $5,000 to local candidates and PACs including maxing out to the MassEquality PAC, Healey, and Kerrigan. He has not given to Michaud gubernatorial campaign.
Ron Ansin, philanthropist and LGBT major donor, has donated over $70,000 to federal PACs, electeds, and candidates. He has donated $10,000 to the Democratic National Committee, $5000 to the House Majority PAC and $7000 to CTE a Progressive Congress. He has also maxed to Cong. Maloney, Cong. Sinema, and MA Sen. Ed Markey. Locally, he maxed to Healey and donated heavily to Steve Grossman and the PAC that backed him, the Mass Forward PAC. Ansin did give the maximum contribution of $1500 to Michaud’s gubernatorial campaign.
Looking over the Michaud campaign contributions, here are some other LGBT donors that I’d like to give a shout out to for donating to the man who might be our first LGBT Governor in the nation:
Dr. Stephen Boswell
Dr. Valerie Fein-Zachary
Javier Pagan
Stephen Driscoll
Dean Hara
Jarrett Barrios
Marc Solomon
Maine Street Bar in Ogunquit
There is a lot riding on the November elections and people are betting on those that are going to protect and enhance LGBT rights. Lets hope their bets pay off.
(Disclosure: The author has donated to: Michaud campaign – $250, Coakley – $500, Kerrigan – $500, Cong. Sinema – $500, and many others.)
