What did the primary elections Tuesday mean for marriage? I’ve launched a Marriage Election Watch 2010 over at the National Organization for Marriage for folks who want to know:
Ohio is shaping up as the sharpest contrast on the Senate side. Ohio is one of the 30 states that have passed state marriage amendments. In the Dem primary, Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher beat even more liberal Jennifer Brunner and will face Rob Portman this fall.
Lee Fisher used to be pro-marriage, but he flip-flopped to run in the Dem primary for the Senate and now strongly endorses gay marriage. His GOP opponent Rep. Rob Portman (who ran unopposed) is a reliable pro-marriage candidate who voted for a federal marriage amendment in 2004.
Right now, the polls show Portman and Fisher in a statistical dead heat. (A Quinnipiac poll of 1500 likely voters taken in late April has it: Fisher 40 percent, Portman 37 percent.) The race is for a seat vacated by Republican George Voinovich so it’s a must hold for the GOP. . .