What do you do when you lose a Republican primary? Just become a Democrat! D’uh! Why is that confusing?
He won’t actually become a Democrat, but Republican Pennsylvania state Rep. Mike Fleck?–?Pennsylvania’s first openly gay lawmaker and the state’s only openly gay Republican lawmaker?–?apparently lost his re-election bid to a write-in challenger. But that won’t stop this guy. Fleck said in a Tuesday Facebook post?on his personal Facebook account that he intends to run as a Democrat in November ?to retain his seat.
The results are unofficial at this time, but they show that?Huntingdon County Treasurer Richard Irvin — ?Fleck’s primary challenger — as the primary winner. Fleck actually won the Democratic primary as a write-in candidate, however, and will face?Irvin in the November general election.
From Ron Ruman, press secretary at the Pennsylvania Department of State:
?If those numbers hold then the candidates on the ballot would be the write-in from the Republican Party and the write-in from for the Democrats. If that holds up, then [Fleck] would be the Democratic nominee.?
Fleck won the Democratic primary by 15 votes because of Democrats who wrote him in on that ticket.
Mike Fleck was elected to his seat in 2006 and came out as gay in December of 2012. Since then, another Pennsylvania lawmaker has come out as gay.
Fleck wrote a lengthy?May 21 post on his official Facebook page?explaining that he was concerned about his political future because he came out as gay. He knew that his opponents would use his sexual orientation against him.?
I am gay. I don’t wear it on my sleeve, it doesn’t define who I am, and quite frankly it’s the least interesting part about me. Nevertheless, I knew that when I came out this race would be nothing more, nothing less than whether my constituency could wrap their mind around the fact that I was a gay man.
[…]
I took great care to not seek out endorsements from ?so called gay groups?. I didn’t want to give my opposition any room to criticize where my donations came from. But I was na?ve, it didn’t matter. I accepted a check for $92.61 from the Log Cabin Chapter of Pennsylvania aka a gay republican group. The group was inactive for years and the treasurer of the group simply wanted to close out the account, so he mailed me the remaining balance. I gladly accepted the $92.61, sadly it was used against me time and again as anonymous callers would call our local paper to be featured in the infamous Saturday ?opinion line??
He’stated in a phone interview that although he will appear on the November ballot as a Democrat, he won’t be switching parties. From?Penn Live:
Fleck’s name made national news this week after state?Sen. John H.?Eichelberger Jr., R-District 30, told the Altoona Mirror?that “if [Fleck] had just gone about his business and people thought he was a homosexual or heterosexual or whatever, there wouldn’t be a problem.?A lot of people thought that Mike was a homosexual. He didn’t announce it and it was OK. The feeling from many people is, he put them in a very uncomfortable position.
Fleck had a response to Eichelberger’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” attitude:
“I think he’s wrong, I think a lot of people think he’s wrong, and that was a very callous thing to say.?I think the only ones that are uncomfortable are people like him that don’t have a clue what someone in my shoes goes through.”
For his part, Richard Irvin denied the allegation that this race is about Mike’s Fleck homosexuality:
?I stated from the beginning and will continue to state it that we’re running for the position of state representative and we’re focusing on the issues at hand which would be jobs, cutting waste out of government, pension reform and reducing property taxes,? Irvin says.
Fleck’s constituents — Democratic and many Republicans — clearly support him. As for me? He’d not get my vote. A?Republican is a Republican.
Tiffany Willis is the founder and editor-in-chief of Liberal America. An unapologetic member of the Christian Left, she has spent most of her career actively working with ?the least of these? and disadvantaged and oppressed populations. She’s passionate about their struggles. To stay on top of topics she discusses,?like her?Facebook page,?follow her on Twitter, or?connect with her via LinkedIn. She also has?a?grossly neglected personal blog?and a?literary quotes blog that is a labor of love. Find her somewhere and join the discussion.
