District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and
Councilman Carl DeMaio are gay, Republican and campaigning to run San
Diego, America's eighth-largest city, the AP reported.
San Diego has had Republican mayors for
nearly 20 years.
Sexual orientation hasn't been an issue
for either candidate on the campaign trail.
“People get to know that our lives
are the same as their lives,” Dumanis, 59, said. “It's easier to
hate a stereotype than it is a person. I make a point of introducing
Denise wherever I go.”
“[Sexual] orientation is not an
issue. It's a not a plus or a minus,” DeMaio, 36, said.
DeMaio, however, has been criticized
for not speaking out against Proposition 8, California's gay marriage
ban, and for answering that he's single in a questionnaire for The
San Diego Union-Tribune, despite a two-year relationship with
Jonathan Hale, publisher of San Diego Gay & Lesbian News.
A third leading contender for the GOP
nomination is state Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, 34, a Marine combat
veteran and a strong gay rights ally. Fletcher was the only Assembly
Republican to vote for a bill that requires California public schools
teach about the historical contributions of gay, lesbian, bisexual
and transgender Americans.
The Democratic candidate is California
Rep. Bob Filner, a former San Diego councilman.