U.S. House candidate Mark Pocan (Blade photo by Michael Key)

It’ll be a tough act for Mark Pocan to follow.

The gay lawmaker in the Wisconsin State Assembly is seeking the seat being vacated at the end of this year by lesbian Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), who’s leaving the U.S. House to pursue a run for the U.S. Senate.

In an interview with the Washington Blade, Pocan, 47, said he wants to represent Wisconsin’s second congressional district to build on the work he’s done during his seven terms in the Wisconsin Assembly and to bring a progressive voice to Congress.

“I’ve always said there’s only one other job I would want,” Pocan said. “Our county executive recently left, and she said, ‘Do you want to run for that?’ She spent six months talking about manure digesters, and that wasn’t something I really thought was that exciting, but legislative work is something I really enjoy. It’s something that I think can have some of the same results at the state level at the federal level.”

The political careers of Baldwin and Pocan have been intertwined. Both served in the early 1990s as members of the Dane County Board of Supervisors. When Baldwin left the State Assembly in 1998 to pursue a run for Congress, Pocan ran to fill her seat.

Among his priorities, Pocan said, is “fighting the proper fight” for progressives on issues related to jobs and the economy. Having run a specialty printing firm for 23 years, Pocan said companies need access to capital to grow and jump start the economy.

“It’s funny to hear Republicans talk about job creators, and they get all excited when the say the words, ‘job creators,’ but their answer to everything is a new tax break for the wealthy,” Pocan said. “I think, when I look at, I know that what small businesses who are my customers need is access to capital, so they grow their business. So, I think I can very credibly provide a small business perspective, but matched with progressive values.”

If elected, Pocan would join other openly gay Democrats in the U.S. House and possibly keep that number at four after Baldwin leaves. Gay Reps. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), Jared Polis (D-Colo.) and David Cicilline (D-R.I.) are incumbents seeking re-election.

Denis Dison, spokesperson for the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, said Pocan has what it takes to join the ranks of the other openly gay lawmakers in Congress fighting for LGBT rights. The organization has already endorsed him.

“Mark is a vocal and respected fighter for progressive values, and that’s what people can expect from him as a member of Congress,” Dison said. “In the same tradition as Congresswoman Baldwin, Mark won’t be shy about speaking out for what he believes in, and he’ll be an effective champion for LGBT equality.”

Pocan is married to Phil Frank, 34, who works as operations manager at the print shop that they both own. The couple has been together nine years, and were married five years ago in Toronto, although the state doesn’t recognize their marriage due to a constitutional amendment ratified by Wisconsin voters in 2006.

Pocan said he “absolutely” wants to follow Baldwin’s lead when it comes to fighting for LGBT rights. It’ll be a tall order: Baldwin was the first non-incumbent openly gay person elected to Congress and is a lead coordinator for pro-LGBT initiatives in Congress.

Drawing on his work in the Wisconsin Assembly, Pocan asserted he has the ability to take the lead on LGBT issues in Congress. As a state lawmaker, he played a key role in pushing through domestic partner benefits for state employees and, as part of the state budget, a domestic partner registry enabling same-sex couples in the state to have 43 of the rights and protections of marriage. Both measures went though the Joint Committee on Finance, where Pocan serves as a member.

“Those are two pretty significant measures for our state that are we rather behind on, that we were able to get done through my committee and through my leadership in the last session once the Democrats took control,” Pocan said.

Asked which pro-LGBT measures he’d like to pursue at the federal level, Pocan said he “wants to work with the community” to determine which measures are the highest priority.

“It’s working with the community groups in deciding what we need to move at the right time,” Pocan said. “Because clearly, in some congresses, you’re not going to able to move bills, you’re going to be fighting any bad legislation that could happen.”

Pocan said he supports repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriage, as well as passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the Uniting American Families Act.

Recalling the recent backlash against the conservative, anti-labor policies of Gov. Scott Walker (R) — who’s facing potential recall — and the fight against the same-sex marriage ban in 2006, Pocan said the LGBT movement is an intrinsic part of the progressive movement as a whole. Earlier this year, Democrats led recall efforts against six Republican state senators and unseated two.

“When we had the fight for collective bargaining, our main political organization, Fair Wisconsin, and many people came with rainbow flags to show support from collective bargaining. I think it’s the collective fight that we have against people who want to take away rights — it’s just growing and becoming more sophisticated and more powerful.”

Pocan urged President Obama to take further action on LGBT rights. An endorsement of marriage equality, Pocan said, is among the steps he wants to see from Obama — as well as other members of Congress — and said an “education process” is necessary to enable Obama to “evolve” as he said he could do.

“When you talk to the president and other members of Congress, let them see what a same-sex couple looks like who are happy married after five years and defying most of the odds of heterosexual couples at that point,” Pocan said. “It’s a matter of getting public officials sometimes to lead like they’re supposed to and making them as a comfortable as possible so they can do the right thing.”

Additionally, Pocan said he “absolutely” wants to see Obama take action to address workplace discrimination against LGBT people. The candidate said he backs the idea of Obama issuing an executive order prohibiting federal dollars from going to contractors and suppliers that don’t have non-discrimnation policies based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

“We’ve looked at this in our state, too, where sometimes you just work the system the best you can,” Pocan said. “You can’t say you’re going to wait necessarily for the political winds that brought in the Tea Party and others to suddenly acquiesce to civil rights. So we need to have the president take a leadership role. I think he’s done a lot of positive things for the community, but there’s a lot more he can do, and I think we need to make it so that there’s a strong environment so that he can get those things accomplished.”

Such an executive order has been seen as an interim solution until Congress can pass ENDA, although the Obama administration hasn’t said whether it will issue the directive.

Wisconsin’s 2nd congressional district — which includes Madison, sometimes referred to as the most gay-friendly district in the country — is a Democratic stronghold, so most observers expect Pocan to have no trouble winning the seat in the general election.

But Pocan won’t have smooth sailing in getting to Congress. In the Democratic primary likely to take place Aug. 14, Pocan is facing at least two Democratic opponents: State Rep. Kelda Helen Roys, who’s been serving in the legislature since 2008, and David Worzala, who was elected three times to the Dane County Board of Supervisors and serves as Dane County Treasurer.

“For us, the primary is the general, so there’s that kind of emphasis on the primary,” Pocan said. “We have to convince the voters that I’ve been a proven fighter for progressive values, got 18 years to look at my record. You know where I’m at, I’m not suddenly going to change, sell out to the Tea Party or something like that. I can best use the skills I’ve built, the accomplishments I’ve had in the legislature and bring that to a federal level.”

Baldwin hasn’t made an endorsement in the House race. Phillip Walzak, a Baldwin campaign spokesperson, said Baldwin thinks either Pocan or Roys would be good candidates to succeed her in representing the second district.

“Tammy has worked closely with Mark over the years, and Tammy thinks both Mark Pocan and Kelda Helen Roys are great candidates for her House seat,” Walzak said.

In terms of fundraising, Pocan is ahead of his Democratic opponents. According to the most recent Federal Election Commission reports, Pocan has raised $123,000 this election cycle and has about the same amount in cash on hand. Comparatively, Roys has raised $70,000 and has $67,000 in cash on hand, while Worzala has raised $55,o00 and has $52,000 in cash on hand.

But Pocan said he has something else to offer the Democratic Party if he’s chosen as the standard-bearer heading into the general election: a track record of helping other Democrats win election. During his time in the Assembly, Pocan said he’s worked on the campaign committee to help elect Democrats to the state legislature.

“Two cycles ago, when we took the majority for the first time in 14 years, I was in charge of that operation,” Pocan said. “I think that that’s something hopefully I can also bring to Congress. Having a very safe district like the 2nd district means whoever wins the primary will very likely be the next member of Congress. I think there’s an obligation to seat like that to help elect other Democrats.”

The election of more Democrats, Pocan said, would be key to advancing LGBT rights and other issues important to the progressive movement.

“Hopefully I can do that sort of thing and help in Congress because unless I help elect more Democrats, it’s not likely that I’ll pass the very things, the values I have and my district has,” Pocan said.

Negative campaign messages were unleashed on behalf of openly gay candidates in Virginia and San Francisco during the past two weeks, raising the ire of LGBT activists and their straight allies.

In both cases, the messages were issued by the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, a non-partisan group that raises money and campaigns to help elect openly LGBT candidates across the country.

One of the group’s messages, issued in the form of an email sent to the Victory Fund’s members and donors, targeted Virginia State Sen. Janet Howell (D-Reston), who is being challenged by gay Republican Patrick Forrest, an attorney and former senior official with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The other message came in the form of a mailing that targeted San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera, who is being challenged in his race for San Francisco mayor by gay former San Francisco Supervisor Bevan Dufty. Both are Democrats and the two are among 16 candidates running in the hotly contested mayoral race.

Victory Fund spokesperson Denis Dison said the email in Virginia and the mailing in San Francisco were aimed at informing Victory Fund supporters in Virginia and mostly LGBT voters in San Francisco of the gay candidates’ qualifications and their opponents’ shortcomings as part of a widely used campaign practice in American politics.

But the messages angered some gay Democratic activists in Virginia as well as LGBT Democrats and independents in San Francisco who are backing Herrera. The messages were signed by Victory Fund president and CEO Chuck Wolfe.

In the Virginia email, Wolfe cited a Washington Blade story last month that reported Forrest and his supporters had accused the Howell campaign of using “gay baiting” tactics against Forrest. The Blade story reported that Forrest and his supporters learned that a Democratic Party volunteer approached voters and asked them if they knew that Forrest was gay and allegedly told them he would promote a “homosexual agenda” in the state’s public schools.

Without mentioning Howell by name, Wolfe stated in his email, “That kind of divisive campaigning has no place in politics, and it’s wrong no matter which party does it.

“We’re standing up for Patrick because openly gay voices in politics are far too rare in places like Virginia, and because he’ll be the only openly LGBT Republican state legislator in America if he wins his campaign,” Wolfe said in his email.

Howell told the Blade the Democratic campaign worker was not part of her campaign and acted without authorization and was quickly dismissed from any role in the party dealing with the Howell campaign.

Leaders of LGBT Democrats of Virginia, a statewide group, called Howell one of the LGBT community’s strongest straight allies in the Virginia Legislature. The group notes that Democrats are clinging to a razor-thin majority in the State Senate and a defeat for Howell and just one other Democrat would flip the Senate into the control of Republicans, opening the way for passage of anti-gay bills next year and the certain defeat of LGBT-supportive legislation.

“I get their interest in wanting to endorse a gay candidate,” said Terry Mansberger, chair of the Virginia Democratic Party’s LGBT Caucus. “But I don’t think it was necessary to attack Janet Howell, a very supportive LGBT ally.”

Mansberger said Forrest’s support for LGBT equality, including same-sex marriage, would make him a welcome addition to the State Senate. But he called Forrest’s candidacy ill timed and the Victory Fund’s support for him irresponsible, saying the ouster of Howell and a GOP takeover of the Senate would be devastating to LGBT equality in Virginia for at least the next two years.

David Lampo, president of Log Cabin Republicans of Virginia, a gay group that has endorsed Forrest, disputes that assessment, saying Democrats would likely retain control of the Senate through wins in other races. He said Forrest would be a strong advocate for LGBT rights in the Senate and within the Senate’s GOP caucus regardless of whether Republicans gain control of the body.

Dison of the Victory Fund disputed claims by Howell and her gay supporters that the Victory Fund had attacked Howell or issued an “attack” ad, as some Howell backers have described it.

“Based on information published by the Washington Blade, the Fund asked its own supporters via email to donate to Patrick’s campaign in the face of gay-baiting reportedly employed by Democratic Party operatives,” Dison said. ”That email never mentioned the name of Patrick’s opponent, so charges that we have somehow “targeted” or “attacked” her are baseless.”

In a separate race, Democrat Adam Ebbin, a gay member of the Virginia House of Delegates, is considered the strong favorite to win a seat in the State Senate representing parts of Alexandria, Arlington and Fairfax counties.

The Victory Fund has also endorsed Ebbin. Lampo said his group chose not to endorse Ebbin’s Republican opponent, political newcomer Tim McGhee. Lampo said McGhee declined to endorse proposed legislation to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity for state employees.

McGhee created a stir last month when he appeared before an election forum sponsored by the Arlington Gay and Lesbian Alliance and recited biblical passages to stress his personal beliefs as a Christian and questioned whether most gays are comfortable reconciling their sexual orientation and religious upbringing.

Similar to Ebbin, Forrest has expressed strong support for legislation banning employment discrimination for Virginia state employees as well as other LGBT-supportive measures, including marriage equality for same-sex couples and the repeal of a state constitutional amendment approved by Virginia voters in 2006 that bans same-sex marriage in the state.

In a development that LGBT activists see as a positive sign, a third openly gay candidate in Virginia will be on the ballot in the Nov. 8 election. Michael Sutphin, 27, a public affairs coordinator at Virginia Tech University, is running for a seat on the Blacksburg, Va., Town Council.

Sutphin is a graduate of Virginia Tech University, which is located in Blacksburg, and served as president of the college’s LGBT Alliance. He currently serves on the board of Equality Virginia, a statewide LGBT group.

He’s among five candidates running for three seats up for election on the Blacksburg Council. Under the town’s election rules, the three candidates receiving the highest number of votes win election to the seats. Sutphin received the endorsement of the Roanoke Times, the region’s most prominent daily newspaper.

In San Francisco, the Victory Fund mailing outraged some LGBT activists who are supporting Herrera, a City Attorney who is considered one of the strongest LGBT-supportive politicians in California.

Both Herrera and Dufty, along with most of the other 14 candidates in the mayoral race, are Democrats.

Dufty is vying to become the first openly gay mayor in a city considered to be the nation’s epicenter of LGBT rights and equality. The Victory Fund, which endorsed him earlier this year, released its campaign mailing against Herrera last month at a time when Herrera was considered Dufty’s strongest competitor for LGBT votes.

The ad includes a brightly colored depiction of a fish impaled on a hook described as a fishing “lure,” which the ad says illustrates how powerful law firms in the city landed lucrative city contracts from the Office of the City Attorney, which Herrera headed. The ad, citing news media sources, says at least five law firms that donated to Herrera’s campaign for mayor have received a combined total of more than $1.2 million in city contracts.

“The donors are fishing and Dennis Herrera is taking the bait,” the ad says.

Victory Fund spokesperson Dison said his group produced the ad independently from the Dufty campaign without the approval of — or any interaction with — Dufty’s campaign. Dison noted that the practice is used widely by Democrats and Republicans in election campaigns as a means of informing voters of the shortcomings and potential problems of an opponent.

“There’s some criticism there, but it’s all coming from people who are involved in local politics and who have their own candidates and old rivalries,” Dison said. “It gets extremely complicated, but they’re essentially asking us to back off from our support for Bevan Dufty, and we’re not going to,” he said.

“He is an obviously viable and an experienced candidate,” Dison said of Dufty “He has been in government for more than 20 years. He has been elected twice to the Board of Supervisors. And the Bay Area Reporter, when they endorsed him, said he is as qualified as anybody in the field of candidates and it’s time we elected a gay person as mayor.”

The Bay Area Reporter is San Francisco’s LGBT community newspaper. The city’s two LGBT Democratic Clubs, the Harvey Milk and Alice P. Toklas clubs, endorsed Herrera over Dufty.

However, the Toklas Club endorsed Dufty for “second choice” in a first-of-its-kind mayoral voting system for San Francisco that allows every voter to select three candidates and designate them as their first, second and third choice for mayor.

San Francisco gay activist Cleve Jones, a collaborator with San Francisco’s famed gay leader Harvey Milk in the 1970s and the lead organizer of the 2009 LGBT Equality March on Washington, is supporting Herrera. He said he’s outraged over the Victory Fund’s attack ad targeting Herrera in an effort to boost Dufty’s candidacy.

Jones points to Dufty’s role as a lead supporter of the appointment of then San Francisco City Administrator Ed Lee as interim mayor in January of this year. At the time, Lee, who became the city’s first Asian-American mayor, promised he would not seek election for a full term. The Board of Supervisors appointed him mayor to fill the unexpired term of Mayor Gavin Newsom, who resigned after winning election as lieutenant governor.

Lee upset many of his fellow politicians and city officials when he announced he had changed his mind and would enter the mayoral race this year. Many in the Asian-American community along with other supporters urged him to run, saying, among other things, that his role as the city’s first Chinese mayor was historic and he should stay on as mayor beyond his interim appointment.

Jones told the Blade that he and other LGBT activists believe Dufty entered the race as Lee’s stalking horse, with the aim of taking gay votes away from Herrera, who has been viewed as a longstanding champion among gay voters.

“All of the polls show that Bevan is not placing at all,” Jones said.

Dufty, in a telephone interview with the Blade on Tuesday, called Jones’ claims “ridiculous.” He said that under the new voting system for mayor that gives voters three choices, he believes he has a strong chance of winning the race in the second round of “virtual” vote counting.

Under the new system, if no candidate receives at least 51 percent of the “first choice” vote, the candidate with the least number of votes is eliminated and the city counts the second choice votes of that candidate. The process is repeated until a candidate obtains a 51 percent majority.

Dufty, who said he’s convinced the vote count will go to at least one additional round, points out that he has raised $1.3 million for his campaign, the second highest amount raised after Lee, who raised just under $1.5 million. He said polls showing Lee far ahead of all the other candidates are wrong because the polls can’t accurately predict the outcome in the “ranked choice” voting system.

Ending months of speculation, former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson officially filed his paperwork to incorporate for a run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Herb Kohl at the end of his term, Politico reports. An official announcement will come soon.

“I’m building support,” Thompson told radio station WTMJ when he announced.  ”I’m building an organization, even bigger than when I ran for President.  I am ecstatic about the kind of support and overwhelming endorsements I’m receiving and will be receiving when I go forward.”

The conservative Club For Growth has been preemptively running ads attacking Thompson as a moderate who increased spending in Wisconsin as governor, and later bucked his party’s leadership in calling for compromises with Democrats during the health care debate early in President Obama’s term.

Former U.S. Rep. Mark Neumann was the first Republican to officially jump in the primary. The winner of that primary will likely face off against lesbian U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin for the seat. Last week, Ron Kind — thought to be Baldwin’s most formidable opposition for the Democratic nomination after Russ Feingold said he would not be running — announced he would not be entering the race for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, strengthening Baldwin’s position. So far no other Democrats have filed, though some well-known party figures have hinted at running.

“We believe Tammy Baldwin can win no matter who emerges as her general election opponent,” said Denis Dison of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund upon news of Thompson’s joining the race.

Baldwin was the first woman to represent Wisconsin in the U.S. House when she was elected in 1998, and was the first openly gay non-incumbent representative in Congress. She would become the first openly gay Senator if she wins.

Apple CEO Tim Cook (photo by Valerie Marchive)

LGBT advocates are urging the new head of Apple, Inc., to make his sexual orientation public amid media reports asserting that he’s gay.

Tim Cook last week became CEO of the $337 billion company — which weeks ago overtook Exxon-Mobile Corp. to become the world’s most valuable business — after former CEO Steve Jobs resigned from his position.

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Justin Nelson, president of the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, said Cook’s act of coming out would help increase what he called the dramatic underrepresentation of openly LGBT people as leaders in the business world.

“What an enormous thing it would be to have an openly LGBT person leading not only a Fortune 500, but a Fortune 50 company,” Nelson said. “There’s severe underrepresentation of LGBT people on boards of directors of Fortune 500 companies, and I think this would send a very serious message that LGBT people should be at that table, they should be in those board rooms.”

If Cook came out as gay, Nelson said the act could encourage senior executives at other businesses to come out as well and allow for the consideration of more openly LGBT people for board positions at Fortune 500 companies.

Nelson said he isn’t in favor of outing closeted LGBT individuals — other than those who actively work against LGBT equality — but noted Cook’s sexual orientation is apparently an “open secret” and predicted that “we probably will hear from him in the not too distant future on this particular issue.”

The main source of information about Cook’s sexual orientation is a report from Gawker in January citing anonymous sources asserting the new CEO identifies as gay.

“After Cook was profiled as a ‘lifelong bachelor’ and ‘intensely private’ elsewhere, we wondered if he might be gay,” Gawker reports. “We’ve since heard from two well-placed sources that this is indeed the case, and it sounds like Cook’s sexual orientation has been the topic of at least some discussion within the company.”

According to Gawker, one source was told Apple executives would support Cook if he publicly stated his sexual orientation — and even would encourage him to make it public as he takes leadership of the company — but added concerns persist about whether Cook’s coming out would affect the perception of the Apple brand.

Apple, Inc., didn’t respond to the Washington Blade’s request for comment on the Gawker report or the sexual orientation of its new CEO.

Denis Dison, spokesperson for the Gay & Victory Fund, said a public declaration from Cook about his sexual orientation would have a positive impact on the larger LGBT community because it would encourage his straight colleagues and others to pay attention to LGBT issues.

“If he is gay and decides to come out and be leading a company that is as prestigious and large and powerful as Apple is, I think that is a net-plus for the LGBT community,” Dison said.

If Cook remained silent about his sexual orientation, Dison said he imagines the new CEO would continue to face pressure to come out as gay because of his public presence.

“There are those in the public eye who are said to be gay or known to be gay who don’t talk about it ever,” Dison said. “Whether or not that’s considered to be in the closet or just folks who don’t want to discuss it publicly, it doesn’t necessarily help the LGBT community or help their fellow LGBT Americans if they won’t talk openly and naturally about their lives.”

Cook has big shoes to fill after taking the reins of Apple from Jobs, who co-founded the company in 1985 at the age of 21. Jobs was later ousted by the board, but returned when the company was close to bankruptcy 12 years later and led the company to become the juggernaut it is today.

The first test for Cook will likely come with the debut of iPhone 5 — an update to Apple’s popular mobile phone — which is set to hit stores in the fall.

Apple, Inc., is known for being an LGBT friendly company — both in terms of its product appeal to the LGBT community as well as its treatment of LGBT workers. In its most recent Corporate Equality Index, the Human Rights Campaign awarded the company a perfect score of 100. Apple has non-discrimination protections for workers based on sexual orientation and gender identity and provides health benefits for LGBT workers in domestic partnerships.

Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Claiming the Democratic nomination to become the next U.S. senator from Wisconsin — and the first openly gay U.S. senator — just got easier for Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) now that a potential major opponent has announced he won’t seek office in 2012.

Former U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, who lost his seat during the Republican wave in the 2010 election, said in a message to supporters last week that he wouldn’t run for office in 2012.

“I am grateful for the friendship and support of so many fellow Wisconsinites who suggested I consider running for statewide office in the coming months,” Feingold wrote. “While I may seek elective office again someday, I have decided not to run for public office during 2012.”

Feingold, who since his departure from the Senate founded the group Progressive United, said he instead wants to devote his time to teaching at Marquette University Law School and working to overturn Citizens United, a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing unlimited corporate funding for independent political broadcasts in political campaigns.

He was seen as the favorite to win the Democratic nomination — and likely the seat itself — for the seat Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.) will vacate upon his retirement at the end of next year. With Feingold out of the picture, political observers say Baldwin, who has said she’s “very likely” to pursue a run for Senate, is the front-runner to claim the Democratic nomination. The only out lesbian in Congress, Baldwin has been serving in the U.S. House since 1999.

In a statement to supporters, Baldwin praised Feingold for being what she called “one of the true legends of Wisconsin’s progressive tradition” and said she expects his “political courage” to continue to impact Wisconsin and the country for years to come.

“Lots of you have asked me whether Russ’ announcement will influence my plans,” Baldwin said. “As I’ve said, I’m seriously exploring a race for the U.S. Senate — and I’ll have more to say about that soon.  But whoever represents our party in that important election should have the same progressive principles — and the same courage to do what’s right — that Russ Feingold has displayed every day of his distinguished career.”

Baldwin was expected to hold off on announcing any decision to run for U.S. Senate until after the Wisconsin special elections, which took place Aug. 9, and after Feingold revealed his intentions for 2012. Now that the election is over and Feingold has announced his decision, Baldwin is widely expected to make an announcement just after Labor Day.

Denis Dison, spokesperson for the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, which has been pushing Baldwin to run for the Senate, said Feingold’s announcement is “encouraging.”

“We’re still assuming that there is going to be a competitive primary; somebody is going to pop up,” Dison said. “But I think if her decision had much to do with whether or not Feingold was running, obviously this is a much more encouraging environment and atmosphere to run in.”

Larry Sabato, a political scientist at the University of Virginia, said via e-mail that Feingold’s decision to sit out the race is a “big boost” for Baldwin.

“She could not have gotten the nomination against Feingold — no question he would have defeated her if she had even run, which I doubt,” Sabato said. “Now, she’s got a good chance to be the Democratic nominee, although we have to wait and see who runs against her. The dust hasn’t settled from Feingold’s announcement.”

Other Democrats who are said to be mulling potential bids for the Senate seat include Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wisc.), a seven-term member of the U.S. House, and Steve Kagen, a former U.S. House member from Wisconsin who was unseated in 2010. Kind has publicly said he’s considering jumping in the race.

But according to data published last week from Public Policy Polling, Baldwin would defeat those opponents in a Democratic primary. In a three-way race with Kind and Kagen she leads with 37 percent to 21 percent for Kind and 15 percent for Kagen. Additionally, in just a two-way race with Kagen she leads 48-19.

In addition to favorable polling numbers in the hypothetical primary, Baldwin also has more money on hand compared to either Kind or Kagen. In the most recent Federal Election Commission reports, Baldwin posted $1.1 million in cash on hand after raising more than $600,000 thus far this election cycle. Comparatively, Kind has $478,000 in cash on hand after raising $592,00o this cycle. Kagen has no cash on hand and has only raised $18,000 this cycle.

Dison said potential Democratic challengers to Baldwin will look at those numbers in determining whether to run against her.

“I think if anybody who’s going to consider getting into the race will look at that polling, they’ll look at her fundraising and decide whether it will too much of an uphill battle to challenge her,” Dison said.

But winning the seat against a Republican contender in the general election will be more challenging. Potential GOP opponents — like former Gov. Tommy Thompson or former U.S. Rep. Mark Neumann — are marginally ahead of her in the polls.

The data from PPP shows that in a match-up between Neumann and Baldwin, Neumann would win 44-40, although 15 percent of responders said they were undecided. In a contest between Thompson and Baldwin, Thompson would win 50-42, although eight percent of voters identified as undecided. Fundraising data for Thompson and Neumann wasn’t available on the FEC website.

Sabato said the key for the general election is whether Thompson wins the GOP nomination and, if he does, how handily he wins the Republican mantle.

“He’s viewed as a moderate within the GOP, and as we saw in 2010, that can cause problems,” Sabato said. “Will the Tea Party back Mark Neumann or some other opponent of Thompson? Will Gov. Scott Walker and Sen. Ron Johnson decide to endorse Thompson or an opponent in the GOP primary?”

If Thompson clinches the Republican nomination without too much difficulty, Sabato said he’d give him a slight edge over Baldwin in the general election, but added his prediction could be off because of the timing of the Senate race.

“I hasten to add that Wisconsin is going to be a real battleground presidentially,” Sabato said. “Obama’s large majority in 2008 is less representative of Wisconsin’s contested nature than the 2000 and 2004 presidential results, which were extremely close. Presidential coattails could matter greatly in Wisconsin, as in some other Senate contests. And look at the recent Wisconsin State Senate recall elections — $30 million plus spent on a handful of local races, with emotions running very high.”

Sabato said “things are so unclear on both sides” in the Wisconsin Senate race that his Crystal Ball website will rank the contest as a “Toss Up” in its next edition.

The retired U.S. district judge who struck down California’s ban on same-sex marriage last year came out as gay to reporters on Wednesday and said he’s been in a relationship with a physician for 1o years, according to Reuters.

U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, who retired from the bench in February, also reportedly said he never considered his sexual orientation a reason to recuse himself from the case, known as Perry v. Schwarzenegger, which is challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 8 and is now on appeal.

Walker reportedly said it would not be appropriate for any judge’s sexual orientation, ethnicity, national origin or gender to prevent them from presiding over a case.

“That’s a very slippery slope,” Walker was quoted as saying.

The talk to a handful of reporters was Walker’s first public comments to reporters about presiding over the lawsuit challenging to Proposition 8. The San Francisco Chronicle reported last year Walker is gay, although he wouldn’t comment on the reporting.

Walker’s announcement also retroactively makes him the first openly gay male to sit on the federal bench. Other openly out gay male federal judicial nominees are pending before the Senate: J. Paul Oetken, nominated to become a district judge for the U.S. Southern District of New York, and Edmund DuMont, nominated to become an appellate judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Denis Dison, spokesperson for the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, said gay judges shouldn’t expected to recuse themselves from cases because of their sexual orientation.

“Just as nobody would think to ask a female judge to recuse herself in cases involving discrimination against women, it is equally absurd to think a gay judge should recuse himself in a case involving LGBT issues,” Dison said. “All that matters is that judges are qualified, competent, impartial and fair.”

Dison added that LGBT Americans are still “dramatically underrepresented” on the federal bench and said “it’s nothing short of bullying” to suggest a judge’s sexual orientation would prevent him or her from deciding a case on its merits.

Florida’s primaries on Tuesday brought unwelcome ends for two high-profile gay candidates seeking office.

Scott Galvin, a North Miami City Council member, lost his bid for the Democratic nomination to represent Florida’s 17th congressional district in the U.S. House. He was among nine Democratic candidates seeking the nomination in the primary to pursue a run for Congress. The victor was Frederica Wilson, a state senator who received almost 35 percent of the vote.

In comparison, Galvin received about 6 percent of the vote. The number of votes he received placed him eighth among the nine candidates.

Galvin said he lost because Wilson “decimated the field” with a strong campaign and because she had the support of the district.

“There was nobody even close to her,” he said. “She clearly ran a very good campaign that reflected her standing in the community.”

Denis Dison, spokesperson for the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, which endorsed Galvin in his bid, attributed the loss in part to the amount of money that opponents funneled into the race during its final weeks.

“It was one of those situations where you could see a path to victory if certain things fell the right way, and so that’s why he earned our endorsement,” Dison said. “Unfortunately, there was a ton of money dumped into the race in the last few weeks.”

Dison noted that Rudolph Moise, another Democratic candidate who lost the primary, put $1 million of own money into the race.

Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida, said many things needed to happen for Galvin to have won the primary. She noted the vote would have had to split almost uniformly among the candidates, and Galvin would have needed an extraordinary turnout of supporters.

“I think he executed the things that were in his control, and the things that got in his way were outside of his field,” she said.

Another factor that Dison said contributed to Galvin’s loss was that he was the only white candidate among nine choices in a largely Haitian-American district.

No Republican candidate has filed to run in the general election in this Democratic-safe seat, so Wilson is now the presumptive U.S. House member in the district.

In another Florida race, Justin Flippen, a tourism project coordinator for the Fort Lauderdale area, lost the Democratic nomination to run for a state legislative seat representing a district in South Florida.

The incumbent Democratic legislator in the race, Gwyndolen Clarke-Reid, captured almost 56 percent of the vote, while Flippen took 44 percent.

Flippen said he pursued a run against Clarke-Reid because she wasn’t faithful to the principles of the Democratic Party as a lawmaker and didn’t back pro-LGBT legislation.

Dison speculated that Flippen’s loss was in part the result of the significant amount of money Clarke-Reid raised, some of which Dison said came from anti-gay contributors.

“She certainly had the money to compete,” Dison said. “She is the incumbent, so there was a bit of an advantage there.”

Although Flippen lost, Smith said he did a “fantastic job” in his campaign and noted he came within a small margin of victory: 334 votes. Additionally, Smith noted that Flippen’s entrance into the race prompted Clarke-Reid to become a co-sponsor of additional pro-LGBT bills in the state legislature.

Despite the losses by Galvin and Flippen, Smith said the election on the whole was “a terrific night” for pro-LGBT candidates and a negative one for anti-gay candidates.

In the race for the Republican nomination to become the next Florida governor, state Attorney General Bill McCollum, who supported efforts to keep adoption by gays illegal in Florida, lost his bid to former health-care executive Rick Scott.

Additionally, state Sen. Dan Gilbert, who championed anti-bullying legislation in the state legislature, won the Democratic nomination to become Florida’s next attorney general over state Sen. Dave Aronberg.

“We endorsed [Gilbert] when the other Democrat was considered the favorite,” Smith said. “And he absolutely just cleared the board.”

Gay candidates running in other states found success Tuesday. Jack Jackson, Jr., who’s gay and a member of the Navajo Nation, won a three-way race for a seat in the Arizona Senate. Steve Howard, who’s gay, won the Democratic nomination to become Vermont’s next lieutenant governor.

A gay city councilman in Florida has won several high-profile endorsements in his bid for a U.S. House seat.

Scott Galvin, who serves on the North Miami City Council, is among nine contenders seeking the Democratic nomination to represent Florida’s 17th congressional district. The primary is set for Aug. 24.

Galvin said he’s running for Congress because the U.S. faces what he called “a challenging time in our nation’s history.” Among the issues that Galvin said he wants to “bring background to Washington on” are national security issues overseas.

“We’ve got military challenges not only in Iraq and Afghanistan, but, I think, right around the corner, right in front of us — challenges in the Middle East and the Korean Peninsula,” Galvin said.

The seat Galvin is seeking to win is held by Rep. Kendrick Meeks (D-Fla.), who’s vacating the position to run for the U.S. Senate.

Among the national LGBT organizations that are backing Galvin are the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and the National Stonewall Democrats. Galvin said Florida Together, a local LGBT organization, also has thrown its support behind him.

Denis Dison, spokesperson for the Victory Fund, said his organization endorsed Galvin because he met the criteria considered in the organization’s endorsements. Such criteria include having a plan necessary to raise the money to compete.

“The political team and our board both agreed that there was a path to victory for Scott,” he said.

One of the factors that Dison cited in the Victory Fund’s endorsement was the crowded Democratic primary.

“When there are nine people running for this nomination, it’s much different than if you just have one or two people competing,” Dison said.

Local endorsements for Galvin have also come from Broward County Mayor Ken Keechl and Broward County Tax Appraiser Lori Parrish.

Galvin said he is additionally pursuing an endorsement from the Human Rights Campaign. He noted the organization was expected to meet this week to discuss an endorsement for his campaign.

Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida, said Galvin “has a strong shot” at winning because of the crowded primary field.

“A strong … turnout can make the difference between winning and losing,” she said. “So, I think there’s going to be a real race.”

Smith said Equality Florida won’t make an endorsement in the race because her organization doesn’t have a federal political action committee. She nonetheless noted Equality Florida would help in get-out-the-vote efforts.

Galvin said LGBT issues would be “a very high priority” for him if elected to Congress. But he noted that Congress would likely tackle some of those issues, such as repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” before he would take office.

Among the pro-LGBT issues Galvin said he would support are the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the Uniting American Families Act. Galvin also supports same-sex marriage and repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act.

Galvin said the Food & Drug Administration’s ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood has long been “a pet peeve” for him and that the policy makes no sense “at all levels.”

“I don’t know why there would be a need to wait,” Galvin said. “Most of the blood banks themselves advocate for getting rid of it. Unfortunately, the stars haven’t aligned.”

Galvin said he would support legislation to overturn the ban, even though he thinks the Department of Health & Human Services should end the ban administratively.

Another issue Galvin cited as important to him was LGBT adoption rights, a priority spurred in part by Florida’s law preventing gays and lesbians from adopting.

Galvin said he was adopted by a straight couple and can “speak quite personally for the need for babies that are put up for adoption to find loving, caring homes.”

Still, Galvin called the ban “a state issue” and said he doesn’t know how much he’d be able to impact the ban as a member of Congress.

“It’s not something I’d have a direct vote in necessarily, but I would use my influence to pressure local legislators — from the governor on down to our local House people — to overturn it if there was an opportunity,” he said.

Legislation pending in Congress known as the Every Child Deserves a Family Act would address the adoption ban in Florida. The bill would restrict federal funds for states like Florida that allow discrimination in adoption based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Galvin said he wasn’t familiar with the legislation, but said it sounds like something he’d support as well as “whatever the federal government can do” to address the adoption issue.

Galvin said discussions about whether sufficient progress has already been made 18 months within the Obama administration shows “things are actually moving quicker than … some want to give the president credit for.”

“Would I rather see him with a sweeping stroke of the pen do everything on one day?” Galvin said. “Absolutely. I also know — and this is just politics — things do move slowly.”

Galvin said judging the president would be more effective at the end of his first term as opposed to before the mid-term election.

“I certainly applaud the president for pushing LGBT issues and I’d like to see him move faster,” he said. “Hopefully, if I’m one of those sitting in Congress, I’ll be able to help make that happen.”

During his tenure on the city council following his first election in 1999, Galvin advocated for LGBT issues. He said he helped obtain domestic partner benefits for city workers and institute a policy requiring city contractors to provide such benefits to their employees.

Galvin is a member of the Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and the Gay & Lesbian Community Center, according to a campaign bio.

As far as family, Galvin said he’s been dating someone for four years, but declined to identify him for this article. Galvin said his sexual orientation has “not really” yet factored into his campaign either in positive or negative ways.

Galvin said Miami-Dade County has three openly gay officials and his sexual orientation is widely known.

“It’s not like it’s a surprise or anything,” he said. “Are there people out there who are perhaps using it as a negative behind the scenes? I don’t know. None of that’s gotten back to me at this stage.”

Despite Galvin’s ambitions to serve in Congress, he faces a funding disparity among other candidates seeking the Democratic nomination in the election, according the most recent Federal Election Commission reports.

Rudolph Moise, a physician and president of the Comprehensive Health Center in North Miami, has accumulated the most money of any candidate in the field, raising more than $515,000. By comparison, Galvin reportedly raised about $56,000.

Still, Galvin said he knows his “pathway to victory” exists despite the challenge in financing.

“It’s a good-old-fashioned, shoe-leather, hitting-the-ground, get-your-voters-to-the-polls effort,” he said. “We’ll continue pushing it.”

Galvin attributed Moise’s lead in fundraising to “self-financing” of his campaign. Galvin said Moise has “a large burn rate” because he lent himself more than $200,000, but also spent more than $200,000 in the race.

“Just raising money — if you don’t do something of substance with it — doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re doing a [good] job with it,” Galvin said. “So, I think raising money in a campaign is — you got to look at [it] in a fashion that more than just, the bottom line, how much have you raised?”

U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin attended a congressional campaign fundraiser Tuesday at Mova for David Cicilline, the gay Democratic mayor of Providence, R.I. (DC Agenda photo by Michael Key)

Non-incumbent gay candidates running for Congress are generally doing a good job of raising money, according to the reported receipts the Federal Election Commission made public after the first quarter of this year.

For the first quarter of 2010, David Cicilline, the gay Democratic mayor of Providence, R.I., has had marked success in fundraising to support his congressional bid. After announcing his candidacy to represent Rhode Island’s 1st congressional district earlier this year, Cicilline has raked in $725,078 for his war chest.

Comparatively, Bill Lynch, a former Rhode Island Democratic Party chair who’s challenging Cicilline for the party nomination, has raised $230,485. John Loughlin, a Republican candidate, has raised $333,763.

Sean Theriault, a gay government professor at the University of Texas, Austin, said Cicilline “looks to be in great shape” heading into the election.

“I would be surprised if he isn’t welcomed into the [LGBT Equality] Caucus after the November elections,” he said.

Denis Dison, spokesperson for the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, said the amount of money Cicilline has raised is “hugely significant.”

“This is an open seat and part of the calculus about who’s going to be considered a frontrunner is the ability to fundraise,” Dison said.

For cash on hand, or the amount of money remaining after expenditures in the race, the margin between Cicilline and his Republican opponent is even more pronounced: the Providence mayor has $713,346; Loughlin has $187,537.

“That’s a sign to other donors and to the political establishment that Mayor Cicilline is prepared to fight and win this,” Dison said.

Notable donations to Cicilline’s campaign include $2,400 from the Victory Fund as well as $1,000 from gay lawmaker Rep. Jared Polis’ (D-Colo.) political action committee.

The Human Rights Campaign, which has endorsed Cicilline, also contributed to the campaign. Michael Cole, an HRC spokesperson, said his organization has made $6,000 in direct contributions to the campaign.

“Additionally, we are likely to contribute the full $10,000 allowed by law through a combination of direct and in-kind contributions by the election,” Cole said.

Cicilline’s campaign didn’t respond to a request for comment on his fundraising numbers.

In the race for California’s 45th congressional district, the gay Democrat running for office has also amassed a sizeable war chest, although not as much as the Republican incumbent he’s trying to oust.

Steve Pougnet, the mayor of Palm Springs, Calif., has raised $867,614 in his bid to unseat Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R), who’s raised $1,330,183 to hold on to her seat.

Notable donors to Pougnet include the Victory Fund, which gave $2,400 to his campaign, and Polis, whose PAC contributed $2,000.

Jordan Marks, Pougnet’s campaign manager, said he thinks the fundraising numbers place the candidate in a “great position.”

In the first quarter of 2010, Marks said Pougnet raised about the same amount that Bono Mack raised for her campaign, even though she’s an incumbent. Marks noted that Pougnet raised $304,000 and Bono Mack raised around $320,000 in that time period.

“This quarter is, by far, our best quarter so far,” Marks said. “This quarter proved that for certain we will have the resources that we need to run a really credible campaign, talk about the differences between us and our opponent, and really give the voters an opportunity to make a clear choice.”

Based on the fundraising numbers, Theriault said Pougnet would “be in the hunt” to claim Bono Mack’s seat. But given the challenges that Democrats are expected to face in this year’s election, Theriault wasn’t optimistic about Pougnet’s chances.

“If this were 2006 or 2008, Congresswoman Bono [Mack] would be in serious trouble,” Theriault said. “I suspect that the political winds may save her this time.”

Support for Pougnet among LGBT groups isn’t universal. The Log Cabin Republicans is backing Bono Mack in the race and last year contributed $1,500 to her campaign.

Charles Moran, a Log Cabin spokesperson, said his organization is supporting Bono Mack because the Republican lawmaker voted with the LGBT community when her support was needed. Bono Mack twice voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment and voted in favor of hate crimes legislation and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

“We’ve got longstanding relationships with Mary Bono Mack and she’s backed [us] up on a lot of different issues when we’ve needed it,” he said. “We’re proud and have no problem supporting Mary in this race. It was a no-brainer.”

Still, Bono Mack has been criticized for not taking a position on California’s Proposition 8 when it came before state lawmakers and for refraining from endorsing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal.

Noting that Bono Mack amassed more than $1 million in campaign funds, Moran said the lawmaker is “doing well” and that she’s among the best people in the country working to raise money for her campaign.

“It doesn’t really surprise me that her numbers came out so strongly in the fundraising world,” Moran said.

Moran said he expects to see another contribution from Log Cabin to Bono Mack as the general election approaches — although he’s unsure of the amount — and that members of Log Cabin are making individual contributions to her campaign.

HRC hasn’t made an endorsement in the race for California’s 45th congressional district.

Another gay Democrat is running to represent New Jersey’s 7th congressional district in the upcoming election. Ed Potosnak, a former schoolteacher and staffer for Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.), is attempting to oust Rep. Leonard Lance (R-N.J.) from his seat.

The first quarter filings reveal that Potosnak has raised $81,007, while Lance has received $772,440 in fundraising. The difference between the two candidates is less pronounced for cash on hand: Potosnak has $64,397 and Lance has $473,880.

Potosnak said he’s “extremely energized and proud” of the support his campaign has received.

“I project a strong showing in the second quarter to advance our positive message,” Potosnak said. “I’m pretty confident that with additional support from our community, we can and we will make up for that difference.”

Noting that he’s unopposed in his Democratic primary, Potosnak said Lance has several challengers in his Republican primary that would “likely deplete his campaign funds” as Lance progresses toward the general election.

The Victory Fund hasn’t made a decision to endorse Potosnak. Dison said he couldn’t comment on the candidate’s fundraising numbers because his organization hasn’t made an endorsement.

Theriault said Potosnak’s numbers don’t bode well for his prospects.

“In today’s political climate, a Democratic challenger needs at least $500,000 to be even a legitimate candidate against a Republican incumbent,” Theriault said. “Mr. Potosnak is about six times short that amount.”

Kathleen Sullivan (Photo courtesy of Stanford University)

The announcement Friday that Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens will retire at the end of the court’s term has renewed speculation that President Obama might consider two constitutional scholars who are lesbians as Stevens’ successor.

Stanford University Law School professors Kathleen Sullivan and Pamela Karlan were among several candidates said to have been considered by Obama one year ago when the White House conducted a search to replace former Supreme Court Justice David Souter.

Obama chose U.S. appeals court Judge Sonia Sotomayor as Souter’s replacement, making her the high court’s first Hispanic member.

As speculation this week swirled over White House plans for selecting Stevens’ successor, three possible leading nominees emerged. The Associated Press reported that U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan, 49, and federal appeals court judges Merrick Garland, 57, and Diane Wood, 59, were the leading candidates.

But political pundits familiar with the Supreme Court noted that that Sullivan and Karlan were among the favorites of liberal advocates who want Obama to name a progressive judicial activist to the court to help counteract the court’s majority conservative wing.

“I think if the president believes that either Professor Karlan or Professor Sullivan were the best qualified for the position that he would have no problem nominating them,” said Denis Dison, spokesperson for the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, a national group that advocates for the election and appointment of qualified LGBT people to public office.

“The thing to guard against for our community is the notion that sexual orientation alone should be a barrier to their consideration for a Supreme Court seat,” he said.

Some political commentators speculated that Obama most likely would seek a less controversial, center-left nominee rather than Sullivan or Karlan. They also noted that Obama’s nomination of a new Supreme Court justice comes on the heels of his bruising battle in the Senate over the health care reform bill. Public opinion polls show his and the Democrats’ popularity at an all time low going into the mid-term elections this fall.

Senate Republicans are expected to oppose almost anyone Obama nominates for the high court post, and pundits speculated this week over whether the president would be willing to expend greater political capital on a “lightening rod” nominee.

Sullivan is considered a nationally prominent scholar and teacher of constitutional law and is the author of the nation’s leading casebook on constitutional law, according to her biography posted on the Stanford University web site. The site also says she has published numerous articles in law journals on federalism, religion, speech, equality and constitutional theory. She served as dean of the law school from 1999 to 2004.

A separate biography of Karlan on the law school’s web site says she, too, is a recognized scholar and award-winning teacher at the school, as well as founding director of the law school’s Supreme Court Litigation Clinic. It says Karlan is also considered one of the nation’s leading experts on voting and the political process. She has served as a commissioner on the California Fair Political Practices Commission and as assistant counsel and cooperating attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

Both women have spoken out on LGBT rights issues and are publicly identified as members of the LGBT community.