LGBT Candidates in Close, Controversial, and Trailblazing Local and State Races

Above: Sims, Dietz, and McEntee

The Pennsylvania Three  
Brian Sims, a gay attorney from Philadelphia, defeated incumbent state representative Babette Josephs in the Democratic primary, and without a Republican opponents, he is sure to be elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, where no openly gay person has ever served. Two other gay Democrats, Christopher Dietz and Kelly Jean McEntee, are seeking election to the House this fall, and they face a more difficult challenge in Republican-leaning central Pennsylvania. Dietz is engaged in a heated campaign against incumbent Sue Helm, a Republican whose campaign and supporters have sent out vicious mailers slamming him. In a neighboring district, McEntee is up against 24-year incumbent Republican Ron Marsico. McEntee, an engineer, has been actively campaigning against Marsico, with efforts including a seven-mile walk from Marsico's house to the capitol building to protest the fact that he was reimbursed for more than $7,000 in travel and meal expenses. Still, Harrisburg's Patriot-News endorsed Marsico, partly because of his seniority on the House Judiciary Committee.