John McArdle, a former aide to NY Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno and former Communications Director for the Senate GOP, recently told a local television program that internal polls conducted by the Senate Republicans suggest that the four Republicans who supported same-sex marriage in New York will win re-election because voters care more about the economy than social issues.
McArdle praised organizations like Gill Action and the Log Cabin Republicans for helping Republicans become politically comfortable with casting their deciding votes:
MCARDLE: They can win. There were polls that were done throughout this whole effort and what we’ve seen consistently is that while this issue is important, that are a lot of issues that are probably more important on the minds of most people. Taxes, spending, property taxes and jobs and that is clearly what drives people in order who to vote for. And what we saw consistently in districts that were polled by the same pollster who works for the Senate Republicans…
HOST: Wait, the Senate Republicans’ pollster polled on gay marriage?
MCARDLLE: Yea, he was hired by the same group. Well look, the whole purpose of bringing someone like myself in…is to give a comfort level to Senate Republicans.
Watch it:
New York’s law passed on Friday in a vote of 33 to 29. Republican Senators Stephen Saland, Roy McDonald, James Alesi, and Mark Grisanti all supported the measure.
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