Marc Morgan, the gay black Republican
running for the District of Columbia Ward 1 seat currently held by
Council Member Jim Graham, is looking for an endorsement from the Gay
& Lesbian Victory Fund.
The group dedicates itself to
supporting openly gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender candidates.
Many of the country's most successful out politicians have received
help from the group, including Wisconsin Representative Tammy
Baldwin, Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez and Detroit City Council
President Charles Pugh.
Christian A. Berle, chairman of the
Morgan for DC
Committee, confirmed Tuesday that Morgan would be seeking an
endorsement from the Victory Fund.
So far this year, the Victory Fund has
endorsed 73 Democratic candidates nationwide, but only 3 Republicans.
Berle said he believed the discrepancy
could be traced back to the fact that most openly gay Republican
candidates face an uphill battle and cannot meet the requirement of
viability sought by the group.
Morgan, however, is in the unique
position of running in a ward where a typical Republican candidate
would not perform well, Berle said.
“Being gay and African-American is an
asset in DC and the party is aware of this fact,” Berle said in a
telephone interview.
In fact, the Republican party's
candidate slate for DC includes two openly gay, black candidates –
Morgan, 37, and Timothy
Day, an Advisory Neighborhood Commission member who hopes to best
incumbent Harry Thomas, a Democrat, in a fight for his Ward 5 seat,
should Thomas win his primary.
Denis Dison, vice president of the Gay
& Lesbian Victory Fund, said that while his group's endorsements
heavily lean Democratic, that's mostly a result of party politics.
“In many places gay GOP candidates
have found it harder to navigate party politics at the state level,
and there hasn't been as much support for them in a party where
social conservatives dominate the leadership,” Dison said in an
email.
“But there are signs that this may be
changing,” he added, “and Richard Tisei's candidacy is among
those.”
Tisei, who is running for lieutenant
governor of Massachusetts, is among the three Republican candidates
the group has endorsed this year. The other two candidates are
Bonnie Dumanis, who is running for district attorney of San Diego
County, California, and Tony Japour, candidate for state
representative in Florida.
Morgan's most probable rival, Democrat
Jim Graham, who is also openly gay, has yet to receive the
endorsement of the group.