Mark Grisanti, one of four New York
Republican state senators who voted for gay marriage, won his GOP
primary on Thursday.
Grisanti of Buffalo scored a
comfortable victory – claiming about 60 percent of the vote –
over his GOP rival, lawyer Kevin Stocker. Michael L. Amodeo defeated
2 competitors to become the Democratic nominee and face Grisanti on
November 6.
The races of 2 other senators who
helped New York become the largest state to approve gay marriage,
Senators Stephen Saland of Poughkeepsie and Roy McDonald of Saratoga
County, remained too close to call Thursday night. James Alesi of
Rochester, the fourth senator, retired.
The four men faced criticism from
conservatives over their votes in favor of the state's historic
marriage equality legislation.
The campaign against Grisanti included
an email
flier sent to 300 people earlier this week which included sexually
provocative images from gay porn studio Corbin Fisher. Rival
Stocker condemned the ad, calling it disgusting.
Flanked by family members, Grisanti
declared victory at the SoHo Bar in downtown Buffalo on Thursday
night.