Is Tom McClintock's Congressional Win a Set Back for LGBT Voters?

When California recalled Gov. Gray Davis from office in 2004 and had to choose a replacement, Tom McClintock, then a state senator, was the pick of right-wing true believers who thought the eventual winner, movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican in name only. Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2008 (representing California's fourth district), McClintock was reelected Tuesday.

McClintock's win isn't a boon to LGBT voters, though, as he's one of the more antigay politicians in Congress. He still takes an interest in California legislation; on his campaign website he has promoted the effort to repeal a California law mandating the inclusion of LGBT people and accomplishments in public school curricula.

The law, he said, represents “a gross overreach by the state Legislature to usurp the parental rights of Californians” and “exposes young children to curriculums and textbooks promoting objectionable lifestyles.”

So far, however, the repeal effort has failed.