A South Florida district will consider Tuesday whether to send an openly gay man to represent them in Congress.

It will be sink or swim for Scott Galvin, a North Miami city councilman for more than a decade, when he faces off against eight Democrats vying for their party's District 17 nomination. The district covers Miami's Little Haiti and several Broward County suburbs.

The district's heavily-Democratic leanings virtually assure Tuesday's primary winner a trip to Washington. The Democratic candidate will face an independent challenger in the fall, but no Republican.

Speaking to gay weekly the Washington Blade, Galvin said he's “feeling very excited” about his prospects.

South Florida gay rights group SAVE Dade and the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, a group that supports openly gay elected officials, have endorsed Galvin's candidacy.

“Scott is a very strong candidate,” CJ Ortuno, executive director of SAVE Dade, told On Top Magazine in an email.

Ortuno explained that the nine-person field could work in Galvin's favor.

“With such a crowded field and no run-off, Scott has a real chance. He's also been the second-strongest fund raiser since he's been in the race,” Ortuno added.

Galvin's campaign was marred in July when half-a-dozen yard signs in northeast North Miami were found defaced with the word “fag.”

“There were those who found out that I was gay for the first time and weren't aware and there were those who obviously didn't care and were actually motivated more by it,” Galvin, who came out gay in 2004, told the Blade.

Currently, only three openly gay representatives serve in the House. In addition to Galvin, two more openly gay candidates – David Cicilline of Rhode Island's District 1 and Steve Pougnet of California's District 45 – are vying for a House seat.