election season

New York's Republican senate majority leader, Joseph Bruno, a 32-year institution in the state senate, announced his retirement Tuesday just as the GOP and Democrats gird for an election season that will determine the fate of the chamber and, potentially, New York's gay marriage bill. Democrats need to pick up two seats this November in order to gain control of the chamber -- something most LGBT activists wager would hasten the process of getting a same-sex marriage bill to the desk of Gov. David Paterson, who has supported marriage equality since the mid '90s. Democratic strategists said Bruno's exit raises questions about how effectively the GOP can raise money in his absence and whether they can hold certain constituencies together.