NGLTF REPORT FINDS MIDWESTERN INCUMBENTS WEREN'T PENALIZED FOR OPPOSING MARRIAGE AMENDMENTS: Press release

Legislators who voted against state constitutional amendments banning same sex marriage rarely faced negative consequences when running for reelection in November, according to a report issued by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute.

The Institute's report, Impact of Voting against Anti-gay Marriage Amendments on 2004 Re-election Campaigns in Five Midwestern States, analyzed the election results in Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, where state legislatures had voted in 2004 on constitutional amendments seeking to ban marriage between same-sex couples, and in some cases, any form of partner recognition such as civil unions or domestic partnerships. The report found:

Voting against anti-gay marriage amendments did not hurt incumbents' chances of re-election.

If anything, it may have helped. The report found that 97% (100 of 103) of state legislators who voted against anti-gay constitutional amendments and ran for re-election won their races, compared to 91% of state legislators who voted for them ( 196 of 215) . In all five states combined, 19 legislators who voted for anti-gay amendments lost their seats. Only 3 legislators who voted against these amendments lost their seats.

In Iowa and Minnesota, legislators who voted against these amendments fared significantly better than their anti-gay colleagues.

In Iowa, all 7 legislators who voted against the anti-gay amendment were re-elected, compared to 71% (10 of 14) of those who voted for it. In Minnesota, 98% (40 of 41) of House members who voted against the anti-gay amendment were re-elected, compared to 86% of those who voted for it.

Republican legislators did not receive any electoral benefit from supporting anti-gay amendments in these five states.

In Michigan, Democrats picked up seats, closing the Republican majority in the House from 63-46 to 58-52. Although all Iowa Democrats voted against the anti-gay constitutional amendment, the Democrats picked up a net four seats, evening the balance of power in the Senate in which the majority had been Republican.

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posted by Eve at 2:30 AM | link

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