Iowa voters on Tuesday retained state
Supreme Court Justice David Wiggins, who was targeted for ouster by
conservatives angry over the high court's unanimous 2009 ruling which
brought gay marriage to the Midwest.
The effort to oust Wiggins from the
bench was spearheaded by conservative Bob Vander Plaats, the
president of the FAMiLY LEADER. The National Organization for
Marriage (NOM) heavily funded the campaign. According to the Des
Moines Register, the two groups spent about $250,000 on the race.
Groups supporting Wiggins' retention
reported spending about $150,000.
Vander Plaats also led the successful
2010 campaign to axe three judges from the bench. The remaining
three justices are up for retention votes in 2016.
The “No Wiggins” campaign argued in
TV ads that Iowans needed to “hold Wiggins responsible for
redefining marriage and legislating from the bench.”
High-profile conservatives who endorsed
the campaign included Rick Santorum, who lost the GOP presidential
nominating contest to Mitt Romney.
At a “No Wiggins” bus tour stop,
Santorum made the dubious claim that ousting Wiggins could lead to
reversing marriage equality in Iowa.
“Now you have an opportunity to tip
the balance with a fourth justice and an opportunity to even reverse
this horrific decision,” Santorum told a crowd of supporters.