Virginia Rep. Randy Forbes is troubled
by increasing GOP support for openly gay Republican candidates.
According to POLITICO,
Forbes has waged a behind-the-scenes campaign to persuade colleagues
and National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) leaders not to
endorse such candidates.
Two promising House GOP candidates are
Carl DeMaio, a former San Diego city councilman, and Richard Tisei,
who in 2012 narrowly lost a House bid in Massachusetts, a Democratic
stronghold.
Forbes, whose name is being bandied
about as a possible candidate for the powerful House Armed Services
Committee chairmanship, said that he was concerned that House members
would be asked to contribute to the campaigns.
“There would be a different situation
if they tried to force other members to give money,” Forbes said.
NRCC Chairman Greg Walden said in an
email that its “decisions on the Republican nominees we support
will not be based on race, gender or sexual orientation but will be
based on the strength of their candidacy and their ability to defeat
Democrats.”
House Speaker John Boehner publicly
campaigned for Tisei in 2012.
(Related: John
Boehner campaigning for gay candidate Richard Tisei.)