Gay voter Jeremy Burnette (left) congratulates Jim Martin, now in a runoff with DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones to win the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. (Photo by Matt Schafer)
Gay allies advance in federal races Martin, Lewis receive strong support from gay voters
Long-term gay allies Jim Martin and U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) July 15 as Lewis easily recaptured his Congressional seat despite facing two opponents and Martin forced a runoff with DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones for the Democratic nomination to the U.S. Senate.
Lewis turned back challenges from state Rep. “Able” Mable Thomas (D-Atlanta) and newcomer and community activist Rev. Markel Hutchins as the incumbent took 69 percent of the vote in the district he has held since 1986. There is no Republican challenger on the Nov. 4 ballot.
“I’m telling you we have won a great victory, not just a victory for John Lewis, but a victory for the people of the 5th Congressional district,” he told supporters at his victory party in Castleberry Hill July 15. “I’m going back to Washington early in the morning. I go back to continue to work because there is a great deal of work left to be done.”
Lewis is a strong supporter of gay marriage and other gay civil rights issues. (See related story, page 11). While he did not specifically name gay rights in his victory speech, he did make a plea for equal rights.
“We must continue to treat every human being as a human being. We must treat people with dignity and with respect,” Lewis said. “We must do what we can to create what I call the one community, one family, one house.”
SENATE RUNOFF
The Senate race played out as many political pundits expected, with Martin and Jones ending up with the most votes at 34 and 40 percent respectively. Former TV investigative reporter Dale Cardwell garnered 15 percent of the vote, while self-proclaimed outsiders Rand Knight and Josh Lanier received less than 10 percent. Knight and Lanier were the only candidates in the race who support gay marriage.
Martin and Jones will now face off in an Aug. 5 runoff election. Martin, who held his victory party at the Park Tavern in Midtown, likely benefited from his 18 years as Midtown’s state representative before he was appointed by then-Gov. Roy Barnes as commissioner of the Georgia Department of Human Resources in 2001.
Both Martin and Jones told Southern Voice they are against gay marriage. Martin supports civil unions for gay couples, while Jones said he would need to see specific legislation.
“Whoever you decide you want as your partner is your business, and everyone should have access to job opportunity, housing, that’s your rights as a citizen,” he told Southern Voice last year.
Martin also supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, repealing the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, and expanding federal hate crimes laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity. Jones declined to take a position on the military policy, and said he was unsure about ENDA, although he opposes job discrimination based on sexual orientation. He also said he would need to study the language of the hate crimes law.
In other contested Congressional primaries:
• District 8: Freshman lawmaker Rep. Jim Marshall (D-Macon) received 83 percent of the vote to defeat teacher Robert Nowak (D-Macon). The Human Rights Campaign has called Marshall an “occasional ally.” He will face Rick Goddard in November.
• District 10: Rep. Paul Broun (R-Athens), who recently introduced an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriage, surprised many by trouncing state Rep. Barry Fleming (R-Augusta) with 71 percent of the vote. Broun will face Democrat Bobby Saxon in the fall.
• District 12: Rep. John Barrow (D-Savannah) took 75 percent of the vote against state Sen. Regina Thomas (D-Savannah). John Stone of Hephzibah won the Republican Primary with 53 percent of the vote, avoiding a runoff. Stone states on his campaign website that he would support a constitutional amendment “and any other federal legislation necessary to preserve marriage as only between a man and woman.”
• District 13: Rep. David Scott (D-Atlanta), who scored a 38 and 55 out of 100 on HRC’s scorecard since taking office, beat state Sen. Donzella James 63 to 36 percent for the district that comprises parts of Atlanta and Henry, Fulton and Cobb counties. He will face Republican Deborah Honeycutt in the fall.
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