Openly gay candidates did very well in recent primaries, but at least two highly regarded gay politicians lost. Both Steve May, a Republican member of the Arizona house of representatives seeking re-election, and Ed Flanagan, a Democratic former state auditor who was running for state treasurer, entered their races as heavy favorites. Both had plenty of money and antigay sentiment appeared to play little role in either man’s defeat. But their losses should be instructive to other gay men and women who run for office: Once you get past that initial hurdle of persuading voters that a gay person can serve the public effectively, you are not home free.

Arizona: May Loses in Upset

State Rep. Steve May (R) lost by 58 votes in a race that featured three incumbents running for only two seats-a result of legislative redistricting. Columnist Jeff Ofstedahl of Phoenix’s gay Echo Magazine describes May’s loss as “a tragedy,” a sentiment repeated by Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund political director Bob Kearney, who called May’s defeat “a big loss for the community.” Ofstedhal says May was “one of the brightest bulbs” in the legislature, noting that he was even being talked about for speaker of the house.

May’s problem appears to have been a poll taken several months before the primary that showed him with a big lead. Confident of victory, he spent considerable time and resources campaigning for other candidates who shared his vision of a moderate GOP unmarred by homophobia. Sure that he was safely ahead, May left on a trip to Macedonia before the primary election. As a result, May wasn’t in town for the crucial get-out-the-vote operation on primary day. “He didn’t need to lose,” says an Arizona gay politico.

In addition, May lost some votes because he had crossed influential Arizona Republican U.S. Sen. John McCain. May criticized McCain’s campaign finance legislation, which is dear to maverick McCain’s heart, thus motivating the senator to work against May. Sexual orientation apparently played no role in May’s defeat.

Steve May’s loss aside, gay candidates in the Grand Canyon State did very well in the recent primaries. Ken Cheuvront (D), the minority leader in the state house, won the primary for a state senate nomination in a Democratic district. While Cheuvront calls the recent campaign “mean and ugly,” he says it was simply hardball politics as usual, involving taxes and other issues. “The gay thing is not even a variable in my district,” Cheuvront said. Assuming he wins in November, as expected, Cheuvront will become the only openly gay member of the state senate.

Although the state house won’t have Steve May among its members, there will likely be four gay members-that’s about 7 percent of the 60-member body, probably close to the gay share of the U.S. population. Without May, however, all of the gay state lawmakers will be Democrats, leaving the GOP contingent without a gay voice.

Vermont: Flanagan Loses Big

Ed Flanagan made history when he was elected state auditor of Vermont, becoming one of the first openly gay candidates elected to statewide office. In 2000, he left the auditor’s office after four terms to run for the U.S. Senate against then-Republican Jim Jeffords. He lost to the popular Jeffords, but entered this year’s race for state treasurer as the heavy favorite with a big lead in name identification. In the recent Democratic primary, however, the once-popular Flanagan lost his bid to rejoin state government by a whopping vote of nearly 3-to-1.

Part of Flanagan’s problem was that his opponent in the primary, moderately liberal State Sen. Jeb Spaulding, had the backing of pro-gay Gov. Howard Dean and most of the state’s other top Democrats.

The other problem was Flanagan’s choice of tactics. Sam Hemingway, a straight-but-savvy political columnist with the Burlington Free Press, says that Flanagan “had the reputation as a scrappy populist-type auditor,” but when he went on the offensive against Spaulding, it backfired. Flanagan “got horrible press,” says Hemingway, who was among the columnists who criticized Flanagan. A Vermont gay politico agrees with Hemingway’s assessment, noting Flanagan’s “serious errors of judgment” in the campaign.

Flanagan’s main attack on Spaulding was that he supported a school voucher program, unpopular with Democratic voters. Spaulding contended that he supports school choice, not vouchers, and that Flanagan misrepresented his position. Most of the state’s journalists agreed with Spaulding and he quickly gained momentum. Flanagan’s attacks also helped Spaulding by publicizing the little-known legislator’s name.

In the closing days of the campaign, Flanagan spent heavily, using some $160,000 of his own money. He spent some of it on push-polling, in which the pollster feeds respondents one-sided information about the candidates. The practice is neither illegal nor uncommon, but it can be an unsavory tactic, and Flanagan’s use of it reinforced the view that his campaign was unfairly negative. As for Flanagan’s sexual orientation, “it never even came up,” says Hemingway.