Idaho Rep. Raul Labrador, a Republican,
on Tuesday lost his state's GOP primary for governor.
Labrador, who had given up his seat in
Congress to run for governor, will be replaced by real estate broker
Russ Fulcher, who won about 43 percent of the vote, The
Hill reported.
Idaho Lt. Governor Brad Little won the
GOP gubernatorial primary and will face state Rep. Paulette Jordan in
the fall.
Labrador, who served four terms in the
House, was the co-founder of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of
ultraconservative House members.
After the Supreme Court in 2013 struck
down a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) – which
prohibited federal agencies from recognizing the legal marriages of
gay and lesbian couples – Labrador sponsored a bill that sought a
religious exemption for opponents of marriage equality. The
legislation sought to protect opponents from “discrimination by the
federal government.”
“Some people looked at overturning
it, or doing a constitutional amendment,” Labrador said at the
time. “I looked at the immediate need, which is the protection of
religious institutions and churches, so that they can continue
practicing their religion as they see fit.”
Labrador also backed the First
Amendment Defense Act (FADA), which has similar goals and was
reintroduced in March.
In 2016, the Human Rights Campaign
(HRC), the nation's largest LGBT rights advocate, put Labrador on its
“hall of shame” list consisting of representatives and senators
who have particularly anti-LGBT records.
“These senators and representatives
not only voted for anti-LGBTQ legislation, they've introduced harmful
bills and amendments, made extreme anti-LGBTQ statements and received
a low score on HRC's Congressional Scorecard,” the group said.