Minnesota Republican wins, other gay candidates fail in Tuesday primaries

While Minnesota GOP state senator Paul Koering, who came out as gay since his last election, beat back a primary challenge from an antigay opponent, and same-sex marriage advocate Eliot Spitzer decisively won New York's Democratic gubernatorial nomination, other gay and gay-friendly candidates lost in their primary battles Tuesday. Sean Patrick Maloney, an openly gay New York lawyer vying to be that state's Democratic candidate for attorney general, was bested by political scion Andrew Cuomo. And fellow Democrats Anthony McCarthy and Mary Washington, who were trying to become the first black gay members of Maryland's house of delegates, were also defeated.

"I think I won because I continued to run a positive campaign," Koering said, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press. "In this race I had everything thrown at me that could possibly be thrown at me, and I still won." His opponent, city councilman Kevin Goedker, had said he asked voters to decide the race based on their values but said he was not opposing Koering because he's gay.

Meanwhile, Spitzer, who beat his primary challenger by an overwhelming margin, has said he supports marriage equality and will work to create legislation in New York granting it. (AP contributed to this report)

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