On the face of
things, antigay messages would seem to hold limited
strategic value during the current election cycle in Ohio.
After all, the state legislature passed a same-sex
marriage ban in 2004, followed that same year by a
voter-approved constitutional ban, and legislation to bar
gays and lesbians from adopting children failed to
gain any significant traction in 2006.
But the prospect
of redundancy hasn't stopped the Ohio Republican
Party from a last-minute attempt to use same-sex
marriage and, especially, gay adoption to maintain
control of the state house of representatives, where
Democrats could potentially pick up the four seats necessary
to win a majority in the chamber for the first time
since 1994.
"It's a Hail Mary pass," says Lynne
Bowman, executive director of Equality Ohio, a
nonpartisan, statewide LGBT rights organization built in
the aftermath of the constitutional marriage ban. "It
worked in 2004, so they're going to try to pull
it out again."
This time the
plays in question are antigay campaign literature and a
radio ad that surfaced in two close contests in early
October, marking the first high-profile appearance of
gay issues in an election dominated by economic
concerns. Both are races that Democrats consider winnable,
and thus key in their strategy to take control of the
99-seat house, where Republicans currently hold a
53-46 advantage.
"Twenty-one seats are targeted, but when you get down
to it, I'd say 18," says Scarlett
Bouder, communications director of the Ohio House
Democratic Caucus. "If our attention is there,
it's something we think we can win."
One of those
top-tier contests is the 85th District in Chillicothe, a
somewhat conservative rural area about 45 miles south of
Columbus, the state capital. Democrat Ray Pryor, a
retired civil servant and Navy veteran, hopes to oust
three-term Republican incumbent John Schlichter in a
rematch of a race he narrowly lost by about 3 percentage
points in 2006.
In the past
month, six mailers and one radio ad have been released in
the district that mainly attack Pryor's
position on gay adoption, claiming that he supports a
policy that harms children. The mailers from
Schlichter, marked "paid for by the Ohio Republican
Party," cite Pryor's 2006 campaign
website, which is no longer accessible. But sources say he
was responding to a debate in the state legislature over gay
adoption and took a position that wasn't
definitively pro- or anti-gay
adoption.??"He expressed that he
believes in traditional Christian values, but believes
that children should have safe, loving, permanent
homes," Bouder said.
While it
wasn't necessarily a gay affirmation, the GOP created
mailers with headlines such as "Liberal Ray
Pryor Supports Gay Adoption." The stark-looking
campaign literature features two bridegroom cake figurines
over a background of a tearful young girl. "Ray Pryor
doesn't want to raise Ohio's children in
the best environment," it charges, urging people
to "Vote no on gay adoption, vote no on Ray
Pryor."
When a bill to
bar gays and lesbians from adopting or fostering
children was introduced in the house in 2006, Republican
speaker of the house Jon Husted surprised many
by deriding the proposal. He revealed that he
himself had been adopted, and prevented a vote on the
bill.
Called for
comment, Scott McClelland, spokesman for the Ohio Republican
Party, said he would first need to check the mailers in
question. He has not responded to follow-up inquiries.
Pryor did not
return a call seeking comment, but sources familiar with
the candidate describe the avowed Christian as a fair-minded
ally -- albeit perhaps not the life of the pride
parade -- with strong potential to win as a Democrat
in a conservative area.
"He did
the right thing, and he got hit for it," said Bouder.
In contrast, a
subtler mailer blanketed the suburbs of Columbus, where in
the 22nd District, Democrat John Carney is battling
Republican Michael Keenan for the seat being vacated
by term-limited Republican incumbent Jim Hughes.
Headlined
"Putting Us on the Path to Stronger Values,"
the mailer asserts the values of Keenan, a Republican
city councilman and insurance agency president.
"Michael
Keenan will strengthen families by keeping marriage between
a man and a woman," says the mailer, without
directly referencing Carney, a health care attorney
endorsed by the Equality Ohio Campaign Fund and the
Stonewall Democrats of Central Ohio. His support for
everything in regard to LGBT equality, up to and
including marriage, makes him a target for coded
messages about traditional family values, according to
observers.
"It's a softer message," says Equality
Ohio's Bowman, adding that the district
contains a high number of female same-sex couples raising
children. "It says, 'I'm right there
with you. I don't support these gays.
I'm one of you.'"
The attacks
against Pryor in particular have motivated LGBT Democrats,
who acknowledge the importance of winning the rural district
where his race is taking place for their party.
Although LGBT efforts are mostly focused on major
metropolitan areas such as Columbus, Cleveland, and
Cincinnati, reaction to the Chillicothe contest reverberates
statewide. Outraged activists don't want to
lose a race that would disrupt the chances of a
Democratic house takeover due to below-the-belt tactics.
"The Ray
Pryor pieces have really galvanized the community to
actually come out and knock on doors, not just give
their money," says James Winnett, LGBT Caucus
director for the Ohio Democratic Party.
In fact, one
weekend shortly after the mailers appeared, LGBT Democrats
knocked on 8,000 doors across the state in their largest
canvass to date in Ohio. Some 1,000 LGBT people
regularly volunteer on weekends, part of a
5,000-member force assembled in the excitement of 2008. The
caucus has also reached its goal of filling 3,000 Get
Out the Vote volunteer shifts across the
state.
"The Ohio
Democratic Party created the caucus in 2006, and there was
very little involvement," says Winnett.
Of course,
economic conditions and the charismatic Obama candidacy also
play a tremendous role in generating interest.
"People wouldn't necessarily think there
would be a trickle-down effect in Ohio, but there
is," says the Democratic Party's Bouder.
"The economy is trickling down to areas that
may have been previously unaffected, and there is a
candidate with a populist message that is speaking to the
needs of voters."?
While helping to
spur grassroots power, the antigay mailings also
illustrate the formal inroads gays and lesbians have made
into the Ohio Democratic Party since the 2004
presidential election. Days after the mailers against
Pryor emerged, Democratic governor Ted Strickland, who
won office in 2006, appeared at a press conference and rally
on October 13 to denounce the literature and support
his candidate.
"They're lies,
plain and simple," said Governor Strickland, according
to the Chillicothe Gazette. "I know we're in
'the silly season,' but these types of tactics are
reprehensible."
"The gay
community is definitely getting more -- and much more
visible -- support from the Democratic Party in Ohio
this time around compared to 2004," said Lynne
Bowman.
Considering the
changed landscape, and the potential to backfire, some
wonder what prompted the Ohio Republican Party to
green-light the mailers in the first place. Given that
the GOP is not talking, opponents can only speculate.
Some Democrats
label it an act of desperation. "When you've
got nothing, you run on accusations and
innuendo," says Doug Kelly, executive director
of the Ohio Democratic Party. "I don't think
voters are fooled by this."
Others suspect
the literature and radio ad might be a pragmatic exercise,
enabled by the $8.4 million dollars in campaign
contributions the GOP received, compared to $4.7
million for the Democrats, as reported to the Ohio
secretary of state.
"When you
have money like that, you can throw everything at the wall
and see what sticks," says Bouder of the House
Democratic Caucus.
It remains to be
seen whether disgust with the ads will translate into
the Republicans' undoing on November 4 and a
Democratic majority in the house. Though Republicans
would still hold the senate, advocates would hope to
use Democratic control of the lower chamber and the
executive branch to pressure the senate to move on
legislative priorities like an employment
nondiscrimination bill. Governor Strickland, an LGBT ally,
is not up for reelection until
2010.?"We'll move toward the right
direction in the future," says James Winnett.
"You have to choose your battles wisely, and
this is the one we chose."
