Roll Call’s Steve Peoples examines the question of sexual orientation in the race to fill Rep. Patrick Kennedy’s seat in Congress.  Rhode Island’s 1st Congressional District will more than likely elect a Democrat, so the upcoming Democratic primary could be decisive.

Right now Providence Mayor David Cicilline is considered the frontrunner, and his campaign war chest dwarfs those of his rivals.  He’s also won the endorsement of the Democratic Party, but will the fact that he’s openly gay hurt his chances?

Cicilline, who’s been elected twice while running as openly gay, says he doesn’t expect it to become an issue in the campaign.

“I think it is completely irrelevant to voters. I think it’s completely irrelevant to this campaign. I don’t think voters care about sexual orientation of candidates, at least in Rhode Island,” Cicilline told Roll Call.

But some observers say the campaign will have to be on the lookout for below-the-radar anti-gay tactics.  Older voters and some moderates may be susceptible to anti-gay messaging from the supporters of Cicilline’s opponents, according to strategists.

Peoples writes:

Cicilline’s candidacy has drawn the attention of at least two national interest groups, the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund and the Human Rights Campaign. Both have helped bundle campaign contributions for the mayor in recent weeks and are considering funneling more resources into the district before the primary on Sept. 14.

The HRC helped coordinate a July fundraiser for Cicilline in Philadelphia, while the Victory Fund recently helped arrange donor meetings in California.

“It’s exciting to see an openly gay candidate as the frontrunner,” HRC Political Action Committee Director Mike Mings said, noting that his organization would likely send “at least one staffer” to Rhode Island in the coming weeks to help coordinate field operations. “It’s uncommon to have someone in such a good position.”

Victory Fund President Chuck Wolfe, who has already visited Cicilline in Rhode Island multiple times this cycle, acknowledged that gay candidates regularly face bias across the country.

“It’s definitely going on, but it’s obviously less in New England,” he said. “But there is the church question: How strong is the Catholic church and how strong will any church influence be?”

The organizations have endorsed Cicilline and two other openly gay Congressional candidates this cycle.

The Victory Fund has endorsed three non-incumbent gay candidates running for the U.S. House of Representatives this year.  If all three win, they would double the number of out members of Congress, joining incumbent Reps. Barney Frank, D-Mass., Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Jared Polis, D-Colo, each of whom are also endorsed by the Victory Fund in their campaigns for reelection.  It’s the group’s largest-ever slate of federal candidates.

Readers may be familiar with the campaigns of Mayor Steve Pougnet of Palm Springs, Calif. (pictured right), and Mayor David Cicilline of Providence, Rhode Island (pictured left).  Pougnet is the Democratic nominee challenging Rep. Mary Bono Mack, a Republican who angered the LGBT community when she voted against an amendment that would start the repeal process for the military’s ban on gay troops.  Cicilline is seeking an open seat in the wake of the retirement announcement by Rep. Patrick Kennedy.

The third and newest non-incumbent endorsee is Scott Galvin of Florida (pictured center).  The North Miami City Councilman is seeking the seat being vacated by Rep. Kendrick Meek, a Democrat who is running for the U.S. Senate.  Galvin is competing in a Democratic primary with eight other candidates, which makes the path to victory more possible, according to a profile of Galvin in the Washington Blade.

New filings with the Federal Election Commission show each of these candidates is a serious threat: Cicilline is in a much stronger financial position than his primary opponents, having raised some $400,000 in the last quarter alone;  Pougnet nearly surpassed Bono Mack’s fundraising in the quarter ended June 30, which is unusual for a non-incumbent challenging a sitting member of Congress; and Galvin is holding his own against a crowded primary field, even though the best-funded candidate in that race is writing himself checks.

Right now there are just three members of the LGBT community among 535 members of Congress.  This could be the year we double that number and grow our voice in the federal government.

Gov. Don Carcieri has vetoed a bill that would have expanded Rhode Island’s hate crimes laws to cover gender expression and identity, a move sought by the powerful anti-LGBT lobby the Family Research Council, which praised Carcieri’s decision.

“Given the challenges facing America, it’s troubling that any legislature would invest time and taxpayer monies to consider such a superfluous agenda-driven maneuver, much less pass it through both Houses,” FRC said in a statement, according to EDGE Boston.

Providence Mayor David Cicilline, who is seeking the Congressional seat being vacated by Rep. Patrick Kennedy, responded to Carcieri’s veto in a statement to Gay Politics:

“I am extremely disappointed that Governor Carcieri chose to oppose protecting individuals from hate crimes based upon gender identity.  His decision to veto this legislation is especially disturbing since our state was founded on the basic principle of freedom of expression.  I will continue to work to ensure that discrimination of any kind based upon gender identity or expression is prohibited in Rhode Island,” Cicilline said.

State House Speaker Gordon D. Fox has not decided whether legislators will return to the capitol to attempt to override Carcieri’s veto.

A new CQ Politics analysis of the race to represent Rhode Island’s 1st Congressional District calls Providence Mayor David Cicilline “a frontrunner.”

Cicilline, who is openly gay, has outraised his primary opponents significantly and enjoys a base in Providence, the state’s largest city, where he was reelected with 83% of the vote in 2006.

According to CQ:

The 1st district, like the state in general, is heavily Democratic. President Barack Obama carried the multi-ethnic and demographically diverse district with 65 percent of the vote in the 2008 presidential race. The east side of Providence is home to the wealthy, while the south side is considered a poorer neighborhood.

The winner of the Democratic primary will be the clear favorite in the general election.

Learn more about Mayor Cicilline’s campaign here.

David Cicilline, the openly gay mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, has reported raising more than $700,000 since declaring his candidacy for the House seat being vacated by Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.).  ”We exceeded all of our expectations, and the energy behind this campaign is incredible,” Cicilline said in a letter to supporters.

Cicilline’s main competitor for the Democratic nomination, state Democratic Party Chairman Bill Lynch, reported raising $130,000 during the same period.  Lynch also kicked in another  $100,000 of his own money.

Learn more about David Cicilline, a Victory Fund-endorsed candidate, here.