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In an April 29^th debate, North Carolina’s two main contenders for the Democratic U.S. Senate primary, State Sen. Kay Hagan and openly gay candidate Jim Neal, faced off in a heated exchange. Neal attacked Sen. Hagan for accepting contributions from political action committees. Sen. Hagan responded that she challenges “anyone to question my integrity.” Sen. Hagan is trying to portray herself as the most experienced candidate with the best chance of beating incumbent U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole in the general election.  Meanwhile, Neal has branded himself as the anti-establishment candidate, who is not beholden to special interests.

The candidates were asked about “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and hate crime legislation. Sen. Hagan, who has been accused of equivocating when questioned about LGBT issues, said we should repeal DADT and that she supports hate crime legislation. Neal has been vocal on both issues throughout the campaign, repeatedly stating his strong support for LGBT equality. Unfortunately, Sen. Hagan’s remarks were mainly left out of the mainstream media’s coverage of the debate. The News & Observer’s article made no mention of her statements. Similarly, the Associated Press story excluded their exchange on gay issues.

Now that Sen. Hagan is finally speaking about important legislation impacting the LGBT community, it is requisite that the media inform the public on exactly where she stands on these issues, so that North Carolinians can make a fully informed decision when casting their vote.

Paul Karr is the Director of Media Field Strategy 

Media coverage of openly gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender candidates and elected officials in the West does not seem to be focusing on the sexual orientation of those candidates.  In fact, in the key electoral state of Colorado, Congressman Mark Udall is seeking the US Senate seat for that state, and openly gay Jared Polis is seeking the nomination to replace Udall in the House.  Media reports have determined that Polis being gay is having no noticeable affect on the race.

In another key electoral state, Oregon, where Senator Gordon Smith has a tough re-election campaign facing him, there will be high-profile races with LGBT candidates, among them:  Senator Kate Brown running for Secretary of State and Commissioner Sam Adams seeking the position of Mayor of Portland.  So far the media coverage has not focused on the sexual orientation of either candidate.

In other states, lesbian candidates are more frequently mentioned in the media as defacto spokespeople for LGBT issues – but the media has not explored whether there is an effect of their sexual orientation on the individual races.  Examples include Representative Nicole LeFavour in Idaho (now seeking a Senate seat), Senator Christine Kauffman in Montana, Representatives Jackie Biskupski and Christine Johnson in Utah; and Representative Kyrsten Sinema in Arizona.

In one recent media story about the sexual orientation of legislators, the AP pointed out that Washington State, with six, is second only to New Hampshire (with 7) for the number of openly gay legislators.

There is clearly an intersection between openly LGBT candidates, LGBT issues, and election 2008 – however, that intersection, in most of the Western US, has moved beyond the sexual orientation of the candidate, but rather to the nuanced positions of those candidates – on LGBT and a myriad of other issues.

Paul Karr is the Director of Media Field Strategy