Cindy Golding, the Republican candidate in Iowa’s special state Senate election, initially sought to distance herself from the question of same-sex marriage by speaking out against meddling from outside interest groups and saying that she supports a popular vote on the issue in order to focus the state on more pressing economic concerns. But with poll numbers showing her running behind Democrat Liz Mathis, Golding is now actively courting the support of the state’s radical anti-gay conservatives and will accept their endorsement during an event today — on the eve of the state’s special election:
WASHINGTON D.C. – Family Research Council Action’s (FRC Action) Values Voters Bus Tour will roll into Iowa on Sunday and Monday, November 6 and 7, for rallies with Rep. Steve King (R-IA) and State Senate Candidate Cindy Golding. FRC Action PAC will be endorsing Golding for State Senate.
Who: Connie Mackey, President, Family Research Council Action PAC
Sunday, with Rep. Steve King (R-IA)
Monday, with Cindy Golding, State Senate Candidate and Chris Plante, Executive Director of the National Organization for Marriage.
But the most recent Public Policy Polling (PPP) survey shows that only 11 percent of voters say that same-sex marriage is “the most important factor guiding their vote compared to 86 percent who say it’s something else.” Sixty-six percent of voters “do support either gay marriage or civil unions with only 30 percent opposed to all legal recognition for same sex couples.” The poll also found that Mathis leads Golding 52 to 46.
As Jeremy Hooper points out, Golding’s endorsers have compared same-sex marriages “to those bonds which might exist between a man and a horse (complete with horse photo),” claimed gay teens kill themselves because they know that they’re “abnormal,” and fundraised around the idea that gay kids are immoral and telling them otherwise is “disgusting.” Meanwhile, Golding herself recently said that she is troubled by schools that offer scholarships to LGBT students.
Previous in TP LGBT
By clicking and submitting a comment I acknowledge the ThinkProgress Privacy Policy and agree to the ThinkProgress Terms of Use. I understand that my comments are also being governed by Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, or Hotmail’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policies as applicable, which can be found here.