Election 2006
Elections results in 2006 show how gay people didn't hurt but rather helped progressives.
Some key results were:
- Wisconsin Republican Congressman James Sensenbrenner told the Wisconsin media that the state's anti-gay ballot measures blew up in the face of the GOP and cost them control of the state legislature (and the Democrat Governor they were targeting was resoundingly reelected, despite passage of the attack measure).
- In Virginia, Republicans "credited" the ballot measure with bringing enough progressives and Democrats to the polls to elect Webb and thus give the Democrats control of the US Senate.
- The anti-gay measure in Arizona was defeated, and we saw the margins drop considerably, reflecting progress (though we are still under attack and need to fight affirmatively as well as help those now extra-discriminated against).
- And finally, not a single pro-gay legislator was defeated by an anti-gay or anti-marriage equality legislator anywhere in the country (including CA, MA, etc., where legislators stood for marriage equality) because of this question, and numerous new pro-marriage candidates (including two governors: NY and MA) were elected in states such as CT, NH, CA, NY, and MA.
Use the key resources below to learn more about what happened in election 2006 and how the fight for equality paved the way for key victories.
FROM EVAN WOLFSON:
Happy, but not satisfied
Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry and author of Why Marriage Matters (Simon & Schuster, 2004) speaks with Newsweek's Debra Rosenberg about the unanimous NJ Supreme Court decision, the upcoming 2006 election, and the work ahead to win the freedom to marry.
Winning marriage
While a shifting mood in the electorate may give our cause a boost—and as the public begins to wise up to Karl Rove's gay-scapegoat-distraction plan—we are still likely to lose most, if not all, of the ballot measures aimed against us. We need to be ready to explain that loss to ourselves, our media and the public so the right-wing cannot spin these defeats into a false claim that our cause undermines candidates or other concerns we share.
PODCAST: Marriage equality leader debates VA anti-gay amendment sponsor
Evan Wolfson's October 5, 2006, debate with VA Delegate Bob Marshall, co-sponsor of a proposed amendment to the VA Constitution to prohibit legal recognition or benefits for same-sex relationships.
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WHERE YOU CAN GO TO LEARN MORE:
Log Cabin Republicans: Election 2006
The Log Cabin Republicans discuss the social conservative backlash Republicans experienced in the 2006 election.
Human Rights Campaign: Election 2006
State-by-state returns, election updates and blog stories, results for key races across the country, and the outcomes of discriminatory anti-gay initiatives in eight states.
Victory Fund: Election Scorecard
The Victory Fund tracks their endorsements of openly LGBT officials from the 2006 election.
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THE NUMBERS: POLLING & STATISTICS:
Election 2006: Support for same-sex marriage grows significantly
- Arizona became the first state to reject an anti-marriage constitutional amendment, by a margin of 51 percent to 49 percent, and the anti-marriage amendments which were approved passed by significantly lower margins than in past years.
- For the first time in any state, pro-marriage equality candidates have been elected governor. Pro-marriage equality gubernatorial candidates Deval Patrick in Massachusetts and Eliot Spitzer in New York were elected by landslides.
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PUBLICATIONS:
Pro-Marriage Incumbents and Candidates Win Elections
Taking a stand to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage does not hurt incumbents or candidates in their elections.
Same-sex marriage initiatives and lesbian, gay and bisexual voters in the 2006 elections
This analysis of election returns and data from the National Election Pool exit poll finds that same-sex marriage ballot initiatives did not help Republican Senate candidates in 2006. Support for same-sex marriage bans has fallen especially dramatically in states where people identifying themselves as born-again or evangelical Christians make up an identifiable minority of residents.
The Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Vote in 2006
Gary Gates of the Williams Institute presents the potential impact of gay, lesbian and bisexual voters in the 2006 election.
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ARTICLES:
ANALYSIS: Think you know what really happened in November?
MYTH: Voters are as opposed to gay and lesbian couples' marriages as ever.
FACT: The numbers tell a different story.
Numbers show gays may have handed Democrats the Senate
The effort to defeat Virginia's proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage apparently pulled thousands of progressive voters out to the polls, sending Democrat James Webb to the U.S. Senate by the thinnest of margins and handing the upper chamber to the Democrats for the next two years.
OPINION: Must gay people wait for our 'comfort'?
There is nothing that the GLBT community can do to appease its opponents except, perhaps, disappear. But in one of the exit polls in the 2004 presidential election that got the least attention, 60 percent of voters favor either marriage equality or civil unions. The younger the voters, the more likely they are to favor marriage. To me, that is reason enough to fight for marriage equality instead of civil unions.
Gay millionaires and allies poured unprecedented sums into the 2006 election — and it worked
Rep. Sue Kelly, N.Y.-19 , voted to pass the Federal Marriage Amendment. "When she made that vote," explained Adam Rose, who wrote a $500,000 check to Majority Action for the express purpose of unseating Sue Kelly in the November election, "I took a look at the political environment, and I said there's nothing I can do about who's president. There's nothing I can do about the fact that Republicans control both houses [of Congress]. However, here is one thing I can have an impact on." Rose's half-million meant that the once-safe incumbent was toppled in a race decided by fewer than 5,000 votes.
Staying on message brought AZ together
Seventy-nine percent of voters knew the Arizona amendment dealt with marriage, but 59 percent also knew it would "take away" domestic partnership benefits provided by local governments. The latter had the highest correlation with the vote. "Let's face it, Arizona is not known as a bastion for the left," Yuhas said. "...Emotionally charged and divisive marriage amendments can indeed be defeated through a commitment to detailed research, telling the truth about its impact on real people, and remaining disciplined to the consistent delivery of an effective message."
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Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry and author of Why Marriage Matters (Simon & Schuster, 2004) speaks with Newsweek's Debra Rosenberg about the unanimous NJ Supreme Court decision, the upcoming 2006 election, and the work ahead to win the freedom to marry.
While a shifting mood in the electorate may give our cause a boost—and as the public begins to wise up to Karl Rove's gay-scapegoat-distraction plan—we are still likely to lose most, if not all, of the ballot measures aimed against us. We need to be ready to explain that loss to ourselves, our media and the public so the right-wing cannot spin these defeats into a false claim that our cause undermines candidates or other concerns we share.
Evan Wolfson's October 5, 2006, debate with VA Delegate Bob Marshall, co-sponsor of a proposed amendment to the VA Constitution to prohibit legal recognition or benefits for same-sex relationships.
This analysis of election returns and data from the National Election Pool exit poll finds that same-sex marriage ballot initiatives did not help Republican Senate candidates in 2006. Support for same-sex marriage bans has fallen especially dramatically in states where people identifying themselves as born-again or evangelical Christians make up an identifiable minority of residents.
