Days
before
the
first
presidential
primary,
Heather
Gibson
was
hard
pressed
to
find
time
to
sleep.
Gibson,
a
Human
Rights
Campaign
staffer
working
in
New
Hampshire,
said
the
hectic
schedule
leading
to
Thursday's
vote
kept
her
and
a
small
army
of
volunteers
busy.
"From
Jan.
3
to
Jan.
8,
there
will
be
no
sleep,"
she
said.
"I'm
in
the
adrenaline
phase."
But
that
adrenaline,
Gibson
said,
is
keeping
her
working
to
ensure
"that
New
Hampshire
voters
go
to
the
polls
thinking
about
civil
rights
issues
and
issues
of
equality.”
“Right
up
to
the
very
last
minute,”
she
said,
“we
want
to
keep
civil
rights
issues
in
the
forefront
of
the
dialogue.”
Activists
are
staging
intensive
efforts
this
month
in
New
Hampshire,
Nevada
and
South
Carolina
to
make
gay
rights
a
top
concern
among
primary
voters
and
caucus
goers.
New
Hampshire
primary
voters
go
to
the
polls
Tuesday.
The
Nevada
caucus
and
South
Carolina
Republican
primary
are
held
Jan.
19,
followed
by
the
South
Carolina
Democratic
primary
on
Jan.
29.
Iowa
caucus
goers,
who
chose
Illinois
Sen.
Barack
Obama
and
former
Arkansas
governor
Mike
Huckabee
Thursday,
also
saw
HRC’s
influence
on
the
process.
Across
the
nation,
volunteers
with
gay
organizations
are
discussing
key
issues
at
campaign
events,
phoning
voters
to
improve
education
and
turnout,
and
planning
to
engage
voters
outside
polling
centers.
HRC
had
staff
on
the
ground
in
Des
Moines,
where
they
joined
representatives
from
One
Iowa.
The
groups
organized
six
workshops
across
the
state
to
educate
gay
residents
on
the
confusing
caucus
process
and
to
encourage
them
to
participate.
Gibson
said
the
work,
which
targets
straight
and
gay
voters,
also
serves
to
rally
gays
for
the
primary
season’s
earliest
events.
“I
think
that
everyone
should
use
their
vote,”
she
said.
“Because
of
the
discrimination
that
we
face
and
the
barriers
that
we
face,
we
are
in
the
unique
position
of
looking
to
elect
a
fair-minded
president.”
Rick
Stafford,
chair
of
the
Democratic
National
Committee’s
gay,
lesbian,
bisexual
and
transgender
caucus,
said
gay
voters
understand
the
importance
of
the
polls
this
month.
“If
we
want
fairness
and
equality
for
our
brothers
and
sisters,
as
well
as
ourselves,”
he
said,
“it’s
important
for
us
to
help
pick
the
next
leader
of
the
free
world.”
Democratic
presidential
hopeful
Sen.
Hillary
Rodham
Clinton
(D-N.Y.)
walks
through
the
snow
during
door-to-door
campaigning
in
Manchester,
N.H.
Gay
activists
are
staging
intense
efforts
in
the
primary
battleground
states.
(Photo
by
Jim
Cole/AP) |
|
The
race
for
that
position
became
a
close
one
last
month.
Among
the
Democratic
contenders,
Sen.
Hillary
Clinton
of
New
York
maintained
a
slim
lead
among
party
voters.
She
averaged
31
percent
across
nine
polls
last
month
in
New
Hampshire
conducted
by
CNN,
Rasmussen
Reports
and
others,
compared
to
30
percent
for
Sen.
Barack
Obama
of
Illinois
and
16
percent
for
Sen.
John
Edwards
of
North
Carolina.
Clinton
averaged
34
percent
across
nine
polls
last
month
in
South
Carolina,
compared
to
33
percent
for
Obama
and
15
percent
for
Edwards.
In
Nevada,
Clinton
averaged
40
percent
across
two
polls,
while
Obama
took
22
percent
and
Edwards
took
12
percent.
“I
think
we
have
quite
the
race
on
the
Democratic
side,”
Stafford
said.
“Even
though
national
polls
show
Hillary
with
a
sizable
lead,
we
see
it
much
tighter
in
a
couple
of
the
earlier
states.”
Among
the
GOP
candidates,
the
race
to
secure
the
party’s
presidential
nomination
was
more
volatile.
Former
Massachusetts
Gov.
Mitt
Romney
averaged
31
percent
across
eight
polls
last
month
in
New
Hampshire.
Sen.
John
McCain
of
Arizona
averaged
22
percent
and
former
New
York
Mayor
Rudy
Giuliani
averaged
15
percent.
But
in
South
Carolina,
former
Arkansas
Gov.
Mike
Huckabee
led
with
a
25
percent
average
across
eight
polls.
Romney
was
in
second
with
18
percent,
while
former
Sen.
Fred
Thompson
of
Tennessee
held
third
at
15
percent.
The
race
was
close
in
Nevada,
where
Romney
averaged
25
percent
across
two
polls
while
Giuliani
held
21
percent
and
Huckabee
was
at
20
percent.
“It’s
a
wide
open
race,”
said
Patrick
Sammon,
president
of
the
gay
partisan
group
Log
Cabin
Republicans.
“There’s
no
clear
frontrunner,
so
the
contest
will
remain
up
in
the
air
until
at
least
the
Feb.
5
super
primary.”
Informally
called
Super
Duper
Tuesday,
the
Feb.
5
event
includes
Democratic
and
Republican
primaries
or
caucuses
in
19
states,
such
as
California
and
New
York.
Stafford
said
the
events
could
collectively
decide
the
primary
election
and
play
a
more
crucial
role
than
Iowa,
New
Hampshire,
Nevada
and
South
Carolina.
“I
think
in
some
respects
that
probably
the
Feb.
5
states
that
have
caucuses
and
primaries
will
be
even
more
important,
unless
somebody
wins
all
four,”
he
said.
“If
somebody
wins
all
four,
then
I
think
the
ballgame
is
pretty
much
over.”
And
that,
Gibson
said,
is
part
of
the
reason
why
it’s
so
important
for
gay
issues
to
stay
a
top
concern
among
voters
in
the
early
voting
states.
“I
think
it’s
going
to
be
a
very,
very
interesting
process
between
now
and
Feb.
5,”
she
said.
“We’re
down
to
the
wire.”
Joshua
Lynsen
can
be
reached
at
jlynsen@washblade.com.
