GOP leaders in the Colorado House of Representatives last night again blocked a floor vote on a civil unions bill, but next time could be different if the state’s numerous gay and lesbian legislative candidates have anything to say about it.

Four non-incumbents have been endorsed by the Victory Fund–three House candidates and one candidate for the Senate.  If they win and join the four out legislators now serving, Colorado would have one of the largest LGBT legislative caucuses in the U.S., and their victories could ensure a floor vote on civil unions.

The out non-incumbent candidates endorsed by Victory are:

Jessie Ulibarri, Senate District 21 (pictured with his family)

Dominick Moreno, House District 32

Paul Rosenthal, House District 9

Joann Ginal, House District 52

This year’s civil unions legislation was sponsored by Rep. Mark Ferrandino, the openly gay House Minority Leader.  It won bipartisan support in committee votes throughout last week, but House Speaker Frank McNulty used procedural delays to prevent an up-or-down vote by the entire chamber, where it was expected to pass.  McNulty was able to kill the measure again Monday night during a special session called this week by Gov. John Hickenlooper, a strong supporter of the civil unions bill.

One Colorado, the statewide LGBT group, said it would now turn its focus to ousting McNulty.  ”We must fight back.  They must be held accountable,” said Brad Clark, the group’s executive director.

Ferrandino and his House colleague, Rep. Sue Schafer, joined their out counterparts in the Senate–Sens. Pat Steadman and Lucia Guzman–in urging their colleagues to give same-sex couples many of the legal rights, benefits and responsibilities afforded to married couples, and they vowed to keep fighting.

“(W)e’re going to work hard to make sure the public understands what happened, the games that were played, and next we’re going to push it again.  And as I’ve said a number of times, it’s not a matter of ‘if,’ it’s a matter of ‘when.’ And the ‘when’ keeps getting sooner and sooner. This will happen,” said Ferrandino.

The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund today announced it has endorsed Sean Patrick Maloney, a Democrat, in his race for Congress.  Maloney, who is running in New York’s 18th Congressional District, becomes the eighth federal candidate to receive Victory’s endorsement in 2012, a new record for the group.

“Sean will be New York’s first openly gay Member of Congress, and his victory will give all LGBT Americans another strong voice on Capitol Hill,” said Chuck Wolfe, president and CEO of the Victory Fund.

“Victory Fund’s endorsement is key, and I am especially grateful for their support,” said Maloney. “Throughout my career, I have pushed hard for LGBT equality, and will continue doing so in Congress.  This is in direct contrast to a freshman class of Tea Party Republicans, who, while claiming to advocate for fiscal restraint, have spent nearly a million dollars in taxpayer money to defend DOMA.”

Maloney was previously an adviser to President Bill Clinton, and was the youngest person ever appointed to serve as White House staff secretary.  He has since served as a top adviser to New York Governors Elliot Spitzer and David Paterson, and is currently a partner in a New York law firm.

His endorsement was approved by the Victory Campaign Board among a slate of 18 candidates put forward in April.  Victory has now endorsed 105 candidates for races in 2012, and the group expects that number will reach 200 before Election Day this November.

Brian Sims tonight has won a decisive Democratic primary in his Philadelphia district and will become Pennsylvania’s first openly gay state representative.  Sims defeated a longtime incumbent to capture the Democratic nomination in the heavily Democratic District 182, and will face no Republican opponent this November.

“Tonight we’re celebrating a historic victory for Pennsylvania and for Brian,” said Chuck Wolfe, president and CEO of the Victory Fund, which endorsed Sims.  ”LGBT Pennsylvanians will finally have a voice in their state legislature, and what a strong and unyielding voice it will be.  We are thrilled for Brian, who ran a remarkable campaign.”

Sims, a former member of the Victory Campaign Board, is a distinguished policy attorney and civil rights advocate from Center City Philadelphia. The former Staff Counsel for Policy and Planning at the Philadelphia Bar Association, he recently stepped down as the President of the Board of Directors of Equality Pennsylvania.

Sims could have company in the Pennsylvania House.  Another Victory-endorsed candidate, Chris Dietz, was unopposed in his Democratic primary tonight to represent District 104.

Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., announced today her campaign for the U.S. Senate raised $2 million in the first quarter of 2012.  More than 40,000 individuals have now contributed to her campaign, and she has $2.7 million cash on hand.

Baldwin, who could become the country’s first openly LGBT senator, has no serious competition for the Democratic nomination.  On the Republican side, at least four candidates will fight for their party’s nod later this summer.  One of those, former U.S. Rep. Mark Neumann, reported raising $650,000 in the first quarter.

Baldwin is set to speak this Sunday at the Victory Fund’s National Champagne Brunch, which will be held at the Washington Hilton Hotel.  For more information or to purchase tickets, go here.

Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., leads an unnamed Republican candidate by 5 percentage points in her race for the U.S. Senate, according to a new NBC News/Marist poll.  The survey of nearly 2,800 registered Wisconsin voters was conducted March 26th and 27th, National Journal reports.

Baldwin, who could become America’s first openly LGBT senator, will likely face one of four Republicans running in their party’s Senate primary.  Recent head-to-head polling found her beating three of them, and roughly tied with GOP front runner Tommy Thompson, a former Wisconsin governor who served four years as HHS secretary in the administration of George W. Bush.

The new poll numbers are particularly impressive given a recent push by a Washington-based conservative group to try to dampen enthusiasm for Baldwin.  The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which represents corporate interests, spent more than $400,000 in February on negative advertising across Wisconsin targeting Baldwin.