republican challenger

Republican candidates spewing a rash of antigay rhetoric on the campaign trial are proving to be serious competitors against President Obama, a new poll finds. That includes staunchly antigay candidates Rep. Michele Bachmann and Texas governor Rick Perry. Gallup found that Bachmann polls just four points behind the president among registered voters, at 48% to 44%. And Perry actually ties Obama among registered voters.

Sen. Barbara Boxer and her Republican challenger, Carly Fiorina, debated Wednesday, with Fiorina comparing her opposition to marriage equality to the position held by President Barack Obama.

U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Tammy Baldwin announced Thursday that she had raised $738,000 in the third quarter, besting at least one Republican challenger in what will likely be one of the nation’s hardest-fought political races in 2012.

As the June primary draws closer, the Republican race to determine who will challenge Sen. Barbara Boxer in the fall should be focused on the larger issues- jobs, economy and spending. However, that is quickly changing as The National Organization for Marriage is trying to shift the focus back to social issues like gay marriage.

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York has been a vocal advocate for repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, and her potential Republican challengers attempted to portray that as “pandering to special interest groups” during a debate Tuesday evening. “You need to listen to the military leaders,” said Bruce Blakeman, who unsuccessfully ran for New York City mayor last year. “Give them time. They’ll make the report and then come to judgment. Don’t pander to special interest groups.”

Pro-gay Democratic incumbent Pat Quinn (pictured, right) has added to his lead in the Illinois governor’s race, and the Associated Press has declared him the winner, but Republican challenger Bill Brady (pictured, left) is still not ready to concede the election. Quinn, a strong gay rights supporter, has pledged to sign the civil unions bill currently pending in the state legislature. Brady opposes civil unions and gay rights generally, and he proposed several antigay measures as a state senato

Even if you've already gone to the polls to cast your ballot (you're going to vote...right?!) there's so much going on in today's midterm election. Here's our picks for the races to watch.

Gay-supportive MSNBC host Keith Olbermann has been suspended from the network indefinitely without pay because he contributed to candidates without obtaining advance approval from his supervisors. Politico reported Friday that Olbermann had donated $2,400 each to the reelection campaigns of two Congress members from Arizona, Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords, and the campaign of Kentucky U.S. Senate hopeful Jack Conway, all Democrats.

The antigay group the National Organization for Marriage has entered the political fray in California with a new Spanish-language ad attacking Sen.Barbara Boxer as a "knee-jerk, strident partisan who ignores the values of her constituents in order to practice bitterly divisive politics." 

Same-sex couples in the state began marrying shortly after a federal judge struck down the state's ban about 5:30 p.m. today.

Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Karen Atala, a Chilean judge who won a landmark ruling this year at the Inter-American Court on Human Rights, were recognized at A Celebration of Courage, an event hosted by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission this week in New York City.

Conservative Republicans and Tea Party advocates are on the hunt for a primary challenger for Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown after his reaching across the aisle to support several pieces of legislation this year, including the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell." Brown, a Republican, was chosen in a special election in January to assume the seat held by late Sen. Edward Kennedy, who died in 2009. He is up for full election in 2012.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday that given Republican control of the House, it would be “inordinately challenging” to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act in this Congress. Gibbs said that he was not aware of any plans for President Obama to mention DOMA or marriage equality in the State of the Union address next week.

Should Rep. Tammy Baldwin run for the U.S. Senate (by all accounts a likely scenario), the Wisconsin congresswoman may face an antigay challenger vying for retiring Senator Herb Kohl’s seat. Former Republican congressman Mark Neumann, who lost his 2010 gubernatorial bid in the state to now-Gov. Scott Walker, announced his candidacy Monday — and says he sees Baldwin as his main competition.

King and Spalding, the law firm tapped to represent House Republicans' defense of the Defense of Marriage Act, announced Monday that it is withdrawing from the case. Paul D. Clement, former U.S. solicitor general under President George W. Bush and a partner at the firm, had been picked as lead outside counsel in one or more cases challenging DOMA. "Speaker Boehner is likely to pursue continued defense of this odious law. However, law firms that value LGBT equality should remain committed to those values."

House Republicans have recruited former Solicitor General Paul Clement to represent the government in federal cases challenging the Defense of Marriage Act. House attorneys are expected to file a motion to intervene in Windsor v. United States of America in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Edie Windsor sued after the federal government refused to recognize her marriage to Thea Spyer, who died in 2009. As a result of DOMA, Windsor was forced to pay estate tax — a six-figure bill she would have been exempt from were her marriage recognized.