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HRC this week endorsed 14 candidates for U.S. Senate, but openly gay Jim Neal of North Carolina was not among them. (Photo by Gerry Broome/AP)
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HOME > NEWS > NATIONAL NEWS
By: JOSHUA LYNSEN COMMENTS
 
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HRC’s endorsement, but was unsurprised by his omission from the list.
“HRC hasn’t really been supportive of the campaign for their own reasons, and they’re entitled to do so,” he said.
Neal, who was statistically tied with Hagan in one SurveyUSA poll last month but trailed her by 22 points in another, also has not secured the endorsement of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund.
“I’ve always said that voting for me because I’m gay is not good enough reason,” he said. “Maybe I’m not gay enough. I don’t know.”
Chuck Wolfe, Victory Fund president, declined to discuss why Neal had not won the organization’s endorsement, but said any candidate for federal office must marshal considerable resources and funds.
North Carolina Gov. trong>Mike Easley this week endorsed trong>Hillary Clinton for president. He angered some gay rights advocates by using what some consider an anti-gay epithet in his announcement speech. (Photo by Elise Amendola/AP) |
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“In working with candidates who apply for our endorsement, we often work them through a series of benchmarks that can be met,” he said. “And I’m not talking about a specific candidate here. I’m talking about a part of our process talks about having early benchmarks. And in a federal race, there are some serious benchmarks to be met early in a candidacy.”
Lesbian blogger Pam Spaulding, a North Carolina resident, criticized HRC’s decision not to endorse Neal.
“I think it’s unfortunate based on the clear differences between the candidates in their approaches to LGBT issues in this campaign,” she wrote.
The endorsements HRC announced this week are part of its broader effort to mobilize “pro-equality voters.”
Solmonese said the initiative, called “Year to Win,” would educate voters through a web site that allows them to register to vote, donate to campaigns, and view a “report card” on where candidates stand on key issues.
Also as part of the initiative, he said HRC would soon begin training more than 1,500 volunteers at Camp Equality sessions.
“Camp Equality trainees will be dispatched to targeted races a
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