NJ Lawmaker Targeted for Marriage Vote

A New Jersey group reports it has raised money and generated supporters for its effort to unseat state senator Sean Kean, a first-term Republican who voted against the marriage equality bill earlier this month.

According to theAsbury Park Press, the Committee to Unseat Sean Kean "quickly formed after the state Senate defeated a bill that would have legalized same-sex marriage, with all but one of the 17 Republican members voting no."

Committee members say they were unhappy not only with the senator's vote but with the speech he delivered beforehand, in which he seemed to be "talking down" to constituents in the 11th district, which includes the gay enclaves of Asbury Park and the Ocean Grove section of Neptune.

It remains unclear whether Kean will run for reelection in 2011, and the nonpartisan committee has not found a candidate to run against him. However, the committee says that money is trickling in and that 1,500 fans have joined its Facebook page.

According to the Asbury Park Press, one potential challenger for Kean could be Randy Bishop, the gay Neptune Township committeeman.