The redistricting that occurs following the census every 10 years always creates some interesting contests for Congress. This year, there are three districts where two incumbent representatives must run against each other in contests that are of special interest to the gay community.

• Michigan: Dingell vs. Rivers

In the 15th District, which includes Ann Arbor and Dearborn, 24-termer John Dingell and four-termer Lynn Rivers are running against each other in the Aug. 6 Democratic primary. In choosing between Rivers and Dingell, gay voters have a choice between two friends of the gay community. Both Dingell and Rivers received 100 ratings on the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) most recent scorecard on gay issues.

Rivers, however, has been a pro-gay stalwart for longer, even voting against the antigay Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 1996. Dingell had a moderate 70 percent HRC rating in the term before gay-friendly Ann Arbor became part of his bailiwick. HRC endorsed Rivers early on, before she and Dingell were put in the same district. It has not endorsed Dingell, though that could still happen. Between the Lines, a gay newspaper in Michigan, strongly endorsed Rivers.

Dingell leads in fundraising by a large margin and also in opinion polls by varying margins, depending on who’s paying for the poll. By all accounts, however, it’s still a contest.

• Connecticut: Johnson vs. Maloney

In the 5th District, which includes Danbury, Republican Nancy Johnson and Democrat Jim Maloney are in a hotly contested election that has Stonewall Democrats and Log Cabin Republicans working hard on opposing sides.

Johnson, a moderate now in her 10th term, scored 67 with HRC in its most recent rating, pretty good for a Republican. She’s one of the best fundraisers in Congress and has a much bigger war chest than Maloney. She was re-elected with 63 percent of the vote in 2000.

Three-term Maloney, who scored 100 with HRC, always has a tough race-he won election to Congress in 1996 with 52 percent of the vote; he was re-elected last time with 54 percent. But he does have some advantages over Johnson-their newly configured joint district leans Democratic; moreover, it has more of his old constituents than it does of hers. Hillary Clinton recently headlined a fundraiser for Maloney. HRC made a joint endorsement of both candidates.

• Georgia: Barr vs. Linder

In the 7th District, which includes the suburbs north of Atlanta, Bob Barr, the gay community’s old nemesis, got redistricted into a contest with his fellow Republican John Linder. The GOP’s primary is on August 20.

Barr, with a not unexpected zero score in HRC’s most recent rating, has been the Jesse Helms of the House. He introduced DOMA and pushed it through Congress. (It was during that controversy that HRC’s Elizabeth Birch, appearing on network television with Barr, asked him, “Which one of your three marriages are you defending?”) Since Barr’s new district “has more Starbucks than gun shops,” as one wag put it, Barr has toned down his right-wing rhetoric, even declining to co-sponsor the recently introduced anti-same-sex marriage constitutional amendment (he said it violates states’ rights).

Linder is a more mainstream Republican. With a 17 percent score in HRC’s most recent rating, he’s hardly an ally of the gay community, and Log Cabin is staying out the race. But Linder has not, like Barr, made a career out of firebrand social conservatism. Linder’s emphasis has been more on economic issues. He has a high profile on the GOP side of the aisle. This one will be close.

Gay Addenda

• Scandals Weaken Catholic Political Clout. “The clergy sex abuse scandals have diminished the once formidable power of the Roman Catholic Church,” says a recent Washington Post article. The paper notes that “the scandal has muted the church’s voice on a range of issues [including] opposing gay marriage” and restricting abortions. While this observation is a no-brainer, its presence on the front page of the Post assures it will be noted on Capitol Hill.

• Frank in Line for Committee Chair. With the recent announcement by Congressman John LaFalce (D-N.Y.) that he will retire at the end of his current term, Barney Frank (D-Mass.) will take LaFalce’s place as the ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee (the old Banking Committee). If the Democrats win control of the House this fall, Frank will be in line to become the first openly gay lawmaker to chair a congressional committee-although Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.) does chair the important House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations. If the GOP maintains control, Frank will be the committee’s ranking Democrat.

While gay-related issues aren’t as likely to come before the Financial Committee as before Frank’s other major committee-Judiciary, where he’s also the second ranking Democrat-the promotion can only increase the effectiveness of Frank’s pro-active approach to gay issues.

Gays Divided in Key Governors’ Races

In three big states with late summer primaries, the gubernatorial candidates-especially on the Democratic side-are almost uniformly pro-gay. That’s good for our community, of course, but it also means gay voters are having a harder time making up their minds. Here’s the gay skinny on Florida, Michigan, and Massachusetts.

• Florida: Reno or McBride?

The Democratic battle is between former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno and lawyer and Democratic fundraiser Bill McBride, and the gay community is not of one voice.

Reno is better known and had a pro-gay record in the Clinton administration. Recently, while campaigning in rural Pasco County-not a hotbed of liberalism-she spoke up for making adoptions by gay parents legal, an issue put into relief here by Rosie O’Donnell. Many lesbians support Reno because she would be the first woman elected governor of Florida. In opinion polls, Reno leads among Democratic voters-who will choose the party nominee on September 10-but in general election match-ups, she consistently loses to incumbent Gov. Jeb Bush (R).

McBride is less well-known, but does have a record to take to gay voters. In the mid-1990s, as an attorney at Holland and Knight, the state’s premier law firm, McBride helped push through a nondiscrimination policy for gay employees, the first of any firm in the state. “It took balls for him to do that,” says gay activist Greg Baldwin, a lawyer with the firm. McBride’s big-budget campaign is beginning to close the gap with Reno, but she leads among Democrats.

Polls show Reno and McBride trailing Bush.

Former state Sen. Daryl Jones (D) is also in the race, but has polled in single digits for months.

Republican Gov. Jeb Bush, like his brother, is not antigay, but he also does not take pro-gay stands. The Florida GOP is slowly integrating Log Cabin Republicans into its ranks; whether that will make an impact this fall remains to be seen. With or without gay support, Bush looks strong in November.

• Michigan: Four Out of Five Ain’t Bad

“We’ve come a long way,” says Jeff Montgomery of Michigan’s Triangle Foundation, noting that four of five candidates running for governor of the Wolverine State are supportive of the gay community. In the August 6 Democratic primary, the three contenders “are all very, very good on gay issues,” continues Montgomery. As a result, the gay community is very divided.

PridePAC has endorsed Attorney General Jennifer Granholm, but there is also a strongly organized gay contingent behind Congressman David Bonior, who rates 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s legislative scorecard on gay issues; Bonior’s pro-life stance, however, is unpopular with some gay voters. There are also a number of gay activists in former Gov. Jim Blanchard’s campaign. Not surprisingly, many gay voters are still undecided.

The Republican primary offers a starker choice. Lt. Gov. Dick Posthumus is described by Montgomery as “not helpful, troublesome, problematic” on gay issues. His opponent is state Sen. John Schwarz “who’s been great on our issues.” Unfortunately, Posthumus is the favorite, Schwarz the underdog. Unless Schwarz pulls an upset in the primary, gay voters will have a choice between a pro-gay Democrat and an unsympathetic Republican in November.

• Massachusetts: Lots of Good Gay Choices

The Bay State, one of the nation’s most liberal, has an embarrassment of riches for gay and lesbian voters in the September 17 Democratic primary. “It’s a tough choice for the community,” says Boston political consultant and ex-Al Gore aide Doug Hattaway, “because all are so good on our issues.” Each of the candidates for governor set up “a ‘gays and lesbians for’ committee” very early in the campaign, notes Sue O’Connell, associate publisher of Bay Windows, a gay paper in Boston.

State Treasurer Shannon O’Brien (D) is the frontrunner and has a well-organized gay group in her campaign. As in Florida with Reno, many lesbians are for O’Brien because she would be the first woman elected governor of Massachusetts.

But the other four Democrats are also good choices. Robert Reich, who served as secretary of labor under President Clinton, endorsed gay marriage at a recent Pride celebration, the only candidate who has done so. State Senate President Tom Birmingham, in what Hattaway calls “the boldest move of all the candidates,” recently blocked an effort to bring up an antigay defense-of-marriage amendment to the state constitution. Steve Grossman (D) promoted gay involvement in the Democratic Party when he served as its national chair, and he has the active support of neighboring pro-gay Gov. Howard Dean (D-Vt.). And former state Sen. Warren Tolman (D), an advocate of campaign finance reform, is good on the gay issues.
Republican Mitt Romney, following the tradition of former GOP governors William Weld and Paul Cellucci and incumbent Jane Swift-who succeeded Cellucci when he became ambassador to Canada-is also courting the gay vote. Openly gay GOPer Pat Guerriero, who was Swift’s running mate before she withdrew from the race, has been campaigning with Romney. But previous Republican governors “have set a high bar” on gay concerns, notes Hattaway, and whether Romney can compete seriously for a share of the gay vote depends on his fall campaign.