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Category Archives: Mitt Romney

A Maine Surprise: Could Marriage Supporters Score an Electoral College Vote for Romney?

November 6, 2012 – 10:00 am

A statewide poll of Maine by critical insights shows Obama under 50% support, leading Romney by only 7 points.

Maine apportions its electoral votes by congressional district, and in Maine's 2nd district dem-leaning PPP has Romney only down by 5 points.

Republicans have sent a mailer into this area informing voters that "only one candidate supports traditional marriage: Mitt Romney."

Pundits are already pointing out the advantage Romney is gaining from pro-Amendment 1 supporters in Minnesota.

Could the wave of voters showing up to vote no on Question 1 (gay marriage) tomorrow also carry Romney to a win in Maine's 2nd district?

We don't know but it will be fascinating to find out tomorrow.

By NOM Staff | Posted in Election Watch 2012, Maine, Marriage, Marriage Election Watch, Mitt Romney, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (3)

WaPo's George Will: Marriage Amendment Will Help Romney Win Minnesota

November 5, 2012 – 1:00 pm

The Daily Caller:

Add Washington Post George Will to the landslide column, along with Fox News Channel’s Dick Morris and the Washington Examiner’s Michael Barone.

On this weekend’s broadcast of “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” on ABC, Will revealed his prediction and added a bonus surprise by saying traditional Democratic state Minnesota would go for Romney, as well.

“I’m projecting Minnesota to go for Romney,” Will said. “It’s the only state that’s voted Democratic in nine consecutive elections, but this year, there’s the marriage amendment on the ballot that will bring out the evangelicals, and I think could make the difference.”

By NOM Staff | Posted in Election Watch 2012, Marriage, Marriage Election Watch, Minnesota, Mitt Romney, Politics, Same Sex Marriage | Comments Off

NRO: "Social Conservatives Turning Out to Remove [Pro-SSM] Judge May Deliver the State to Romney"

November 4, 2012 – 6:00 pm

Betsy Woodruff writes at National Review:

It’s certainly not a sure thing, but the fate of one David Wiggins could play a key role in determining, on November 6, who becomes the leader of the free world.

David Wiggins is a justice on the Iowa Supreme Court, and this fall he’s up for a retention vote. A controversial decision about gay marriage has given rise to a sizeable grassroots movement among Hawkeye social conservatives who want to push him out. Their get-out-the-vote efforts could mobilize otherwise unmotivated conservative voters and tip the balance in Iowa. It’s a state where Mitt Romney was not expected to win, but he now trails by just two points in the Real Clear Politicsaverage.

This is happening because of the Iowa Supreme Court’s controversial 2009 decision on the state’s restricting its marriage licenses to straight coouples. The seven justices on the court ruled unanimously that the statute denied same-sex couples equal protection and didn’t serve a compelling state interest. But the kicker for conservatives, according to former Iowa GOP political director Craig Robinson, came when the court also stipulated that same-sex couples had now won the right to marry. The unconstitutionality of one statute doesn’t imply that its inverse is law, Robinson notes, but that was the result of the court’s ruling. Opponents of the ruling argue that in legislating from the bench, the justices overstepped their constitutional bounds and deserve to be thrown out.

By NOM Staff | Posted in Election Watch 2012, Iowa, Law, Marriage, Marriage Election Watch, Mitt Romney, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (1)

NRO's Costa: Marriage Bringing Out Romney Supporters in Minnesota

October 31, 2012 – 4:00 pm

NRO's Robert Costa notes that one of the reasons a new poll shows Mitt Romney within the margin of error with Barack Obama in Minnesota (a state Obama won by 10 points in 2008) is the simultaneous Marriage Protection Amendment:

"...A Star Tribune poll released Sunday shows a dead heat, with Obama at 47 percent and Romney at 44 percent. This shocker elated state Republicans, who have been frustrated for decades. (Democrats have won Minnesota since 1972.) To capitalize on the momentum, the Romney campaign recently spent a small sum on television ads.

Democrats are nervous. For months, their electoral calculus has categorized Minnesota as reliably blue. This week, the Washington Post and ABC News reclassified it from “safely” Democrat to “lean Obama.” To stanch the bleeding, Democrats are spending more, and sending in former president Bill Clinton, who will stump near the Twin Cities.

Obama adviser Jim Messina is pushing back; he told reporters on Monday that the idea Romney could win Minnesota is “wishful thinking.” But Republicans’ rising expectations are grounded in more than poll numbers. As Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey reports, there are “two key referendums on the ballot,” and they are dominating the debate and stoking participation.

One measure would amend the state constitution to require photo identification for voting, and the other would constitutionally define marriage as between a man and a woman. Outside groups on both sides have poured in money. These referendums, more than Republican Kurt Bills’s underfunded challenge to Senator Amy Klobuchar, have Republicans enthused."

By NOM Staff | Posted in Election Watch 2012, Marriage, Marriage Election Watch, Mitt Romney, Politics, Polling, President Obama, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (1)

Frank Schubert: "In Final Stretch, Social Issues Can Help Romney"

October 31, 2012 – 3:00 pm

Frank Schubert, President of Mission Public Affairs and NOM's political director, writes in The Hill:

"With polls showing the presidential race to be dead even, Mitt Romney would do well to remind voters in key swing states of his position on social issues like marriage, life and religious liberty. They could tip the scale in this election.

The Karl Rove wing of the GOP and the Republican elite have succeeded in keeping social issues off the table in this general election, deeming them to be “divisive.” They’ve understandably focused their campaign on the Obama record, especially as it relates to the economy. But Obama also has a record on social issues, and that record puts him at odds with a large majority of voters in key swing states. Unfortunately, voters in those states haven’t heard much about the Obama record on marriage, life and religious liberty, and Romney himself hasn’t done much to make these issues a central part of his messaging. This is a key strategic mistake that he should remedy while he still has the chance.

Let’s look at the issue of preserving marriage as the union of one man and one woman. This issue has been on the ballot in 32 states – coast to coast, in red states and blue. It has won in all 32 states. Some of these are the very swing states that will decide the election this November. Florida passed their marriage amendment by 62 percent of the vote. North Carolina passed it with 61 percent support just this past May. Virginia passed theirs by 57 percent. And the critical state of Ohio? They passed their amendment by 62 percent of the vote. Iowa hasn’t had a chance to vote on a marriage amendment yet, but with about 55 percent of the vote they did throw three sitting Supreme Court justices off the court last election for redefining marriage there. Recent polls suggest they’re about to boot another one of the gay marriage justices..."

By NOM Staff | Posted in Election Watch 2012, Law, Marriage, Marriage Election Watch, Mitt Romney, Politics, President Obama, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (2)

Santorum: Stand Up for Marriage and Families this November

October 31, 2012 – 11:00 am

Rick Santorum writes that "wedded bliss helps prevent poverty" in the Washington Times:

Since the 2008 presidential campaign, when then-Sen. Barack Obama told the Rev. Rick Warren that he supported traditional marriage defined as the union of “one man and one woman,” the president’s position on this topic has “evolved,” and now, of course, has reversed.

Indeed, Mr. Obama not only has strayed quite a distance from his original position, he has done everything he can to undermine traditional marriage. What’s more, he has sat by idly while activist judges have decided how marriage should be defined. This is bad for marriage and bad for America.

The president’s refusal to defend marriage at the federal level has been an abdication of his constitutional responsibility to execute and enforce the law. He has signaled clearly that if re-elected in November, he will continue this abuse of power to redefine marriage.

The people of Maryland, Minnesota, Washington and Maine have the opportunity to affirm core traditional American values by voting to support traditional marriage on Election Day, Nov. 6. Voters in those states can join the 31 other states that have voted “yes” to preserving marriage through a state constitutional amendment, honoring marriage between a man and a woman now and for future generations.

By NOM Staff | Posted in Culture, Economics, Marriage, Mitt Romney, Politics, President Obama, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (1)

National Organization for Marriage: Obama's New Statements in Support of Same-Sex Marriage are a Reminder About the Clear Choice America Faces in November

October 26, 2012 – 10:30 am

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 26, 2012
Contact: Elizabeth Ray or Jen Campbell (703-683-5004)

"Every time a state has voted on marriage over the past four years the citizens have ignored the President and voted their pro-marriage beliefs … and this November will be no different."—Brian Brown, President of NOM—

National Organization for Marriage

Washington, D.C.—Reacting to the news that President Obama has endorsed Referendum 74 in Washington State, Question 1 in Maine and Question 6 in Maryland, all of which would redefine marriage if approved, Brian Brown, President of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) said:

"President Obama has opposed every effort to protect marriage since he came into office, and yet every time a state has voted on marriage over the past four years citizens have ignored the President and voted their pro-marriage beliefs, including most recently in North Carolina, where a plurality of Democrats ignored the President's opposition and contributed to the 61% of voters who supported the Marriage Protection Amendment earlier this year."

"Time and time again we have seen that people's personal conviction that marriage is the union of husband and wife is too strong to be swayed by what the President says on this issue," Brown continued.

"President Obama's choice to support efforts to redefine marriage will prove to be a motivation for pro-marriage voters in these states and across the country to mobilize in the final days before the election to support marriage and support candidates at the local and national level who share their pro-marriage view. Voters in thirty-two states have voted to protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman, often by a wide margin, especially in swing states considered critical to the election of the next President. Mitt Romney has been a stalwart advocate of marriage and has signed NOM's five-point Marriage Pledge. The contrast between the two Presidential candidates on the issue of marriage could not be clearer," Brown added.

"The momentum is clearly behind our efforts to protect marriage in the four states voting on November 6th . Pro-marriage activists have always won the closing argument and this November will be no different, despite President Obama's choice to inject himself into the important decisions these four states are about to make," concluded Brown.

President Obama has previously stated his opposition to the Minnesota Protection Amendment.

###

To schedule an interview with Brian Brown, President of the National Organization for Marriage, please contact Jen Campbell (x145), [email protected] , or Elizabeth Ray (x130), [email protected] , at 703-683-5004.

Paid for by The National Organization for Marriage, Brian Brown, president. 2029 K Street NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20006, not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. New § 68A.405(1)(f) & (h).

By NOM Staff | Posted in Election Watch 2012, Marriage Election Watch, Mitt Romney, President Obama, Press Releases | Comments (5)

Has the Minnesota Marriage Amendment Pushed the State Towards Romney?

October 25, 2012 – 9:00 am

The latest Rasmussen poll shows Mitt Romney trailing Obama by only 5 points in Minnesota. We wonder if strong support for the Marriage Protection Amendment is motivating the conservative base there, as we have seen in other states that have voted to protect marriage during Presidential elections:

President Obama earns just over 50% of the vote in Minnesota.

A new telephone survey of Likely Minnesota Voters finds Barack Obama with 51% support to 46% for Mitt Romney. One percent (1%) prefers some other candidate, while another one percent (1%) is undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

By NOM Staff | Posted in Election Watch 2012, Marriage, Marriage Election Watch, Minnesota, Mitt Romney, Poll, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (5)

Romney Spokeswoman Confirms Governor's Support For Federal Marriage Amendment

October 22, 2012 – 9:00 am

Liberal groups are trying to make a big deal about this but we are happy to see Governor Romney's campaign stand by his promise to support a federal marriage amendment:

A top Romney adviser disavowed remarks and a position reported this past week that appeared to be a reversal of the campaign's support of the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would bar states from allowing same-sex couples to marry.

Although campaign officials did not respond to inquiries prior to publication, Bay Buchanan issued a clarification to BuzzFeed this afternoon following initial publication of this story, writing, "Governor Romney supports a federal marriage amendment to the Constitution that defines marriage as an institution between a man and a woman. Governor Romney also believes, consistent with the 10th Amendment, that it should be left to states to decide whether to grant same-sex couples certain benefits, such as hospital visitation rights and the ability to adopt children. I referred to the Tenth Amendment only when speaking about these kinds of benefits – not marriage." -- Buzz Feed

By NOM Staff | Posted in DOMA, Election Watch 2012, Law, Marriage, Marriage Election Watch, Mitt Romney, Politics, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (2)

Obama and Romney on Marriage: Words & Actions

October 8, 2012 – 10:30 am

As pro-marriage voters prepare to participate in the presidential election, the Baptist Press has done an invaluable service by charting out the concrete actions Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have taken as well as what they have said about marriage.

Here, for instance, is what they found Mitt Romney's actions on marriage to be while Governor of Massachusetts:

-- November 2003: The same day that Massachusetts' highest court issued its first-in-the-nation decision that would legalize gay marriage, Romney endorses a proposed state constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man, one woman.

-- March 2004: Announces his desire to ask the court to prevent its ruling from going into effect until after citizens can vote on a state constitutional marriage amendment. Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly, though, declines to make such a request to the court. (The court had "stayed" its ruling for 180 days, meaning it did not take effect until May 2004.)

-- April 2004: Files an emergency bill with the state legislature that would give him the power to ask the state's high court to delay its ruling until after citizens can vote on a constitutional marriage amendment. (The bill fails.)

-- April 2004: Announces that because of an obscure 1913 law, out-of-state gay couples won't be able to marry when the court's ruling takes effect in May 2004. Romney's interpretation goes further than the interpretation of the attorney general, who had limited the application of the law to only the 38 states that had explicitly defined marriage in the traditional sense. Romney said couples from any state that doesn't recognize gay marriage are ineligible.

-- May 2004: Announces he will veto any bill that allows out-of-state couples to marry in Massachusetts.

-- June 2004: Appears before a U.S. Senate committee, urging passage of a federal constitutional marriage amendment defining marriage as between one man, one woman. Such an amendment would overturn the gay marriage ruling in his state.

-- November 2006: Speaks before 7,000 people at a rally in Boston supporting a state constitutional marriage amendment.

-- November 2006: Sues state legislators to try and force them to vote on a state marriage amendment. Citizens had gathered 170,000 signatures to place the amendment before the body, and the constitution requires a vote. (The court sided with Romney. The legislature subsequently passed the amendment in January 2007, although it failed to pass it again during the next session, as required. The state constitution requires the amendment to pass twice before being placed on the ballot.)

-- December 2006: Threatens to withhold a pay raise from state legislators if they fail to vote on a marriage amendment.

By NOM Staff | Posted in Election Watch 2012, Marriage, Marriage Election Watch, Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, Politics, President Obama, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (17)

Paul Ryan Unreservedly Speaks in Favor of Protecting Marriage

October 4, 2012 – 9:00 am

In an interview with Focus on the Family President Jim Daly, GOP VP candidate Paul Ryan offered this uncompromising defense of marriage:

"[Marriage is] the foundation for society and for family for thousands of years. First of all, Mitt Romney and I — I’ll just say it, it’s worth repeating — we believe marriage is between one man and one woman, that’s number one. Number two, you know where I come from we had one of those amendments in Wisconsin, I was a big supporter of it and we passed it like you say, where it’s put on the ballot it passes. The second point is, President Obama gave up defending the Defense of Marriage Act in the courts, I mean, not only is this decision to abandon this law the wrong decision, it passed in a bipartisan manner, it is very troubling because it undermines not only traditional marriage but it contradicts our system of government. It’s not the president’s job to pick and choose which laws he likes. A Romney administration will protect traditional marriage and the rule of law and we will provide the Defense of Marriage Act the proper defense in the courts that it deserves."

By NOM Staff | Posted in DOMA, Election Watch 2012, Law, Marriage, Marriage Election Watch, Mitt Romney, Same Sex Marriage, Wisconsin | Comments (6)

Rasmussen: Romney Opens Up 51%-45% Lead Over Obama in North Carolina

September 17, 2012 – 2:00 pm

North Carolina is a key swing state and the Obama campaign hoped holding their convention in Charlotte would boost the President's chances. But his endorsement of gay marriage and the sour economy is causing him real, persistent troubles, as this new poll shows:

Mitt Romney has cleared the 50% mark again in the battleground state of North Carolina despite the presence of the Democratic National Convention there little over a week ago.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely North Carolina Voters shows Romney with 51% support to President Obama’s 45%. One percent (1%) likes some other candidate in the race, and three percent (3%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

By NOM Staff | Posted in Election Watch 2012, Marriage, Marriage Election Watch, Mitt Romney, North Carolina, President Obama, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (2)

Video: Romney Promises to "Defend Marriage, Not Redefine It"

September 17, 2012 – 12:30 pm

Mitt Romney sent this video message to the Values Voter Summit in Washington, DC this weekend -- the largest gathering of social conservatives before November. In it he promises to "Defend marriage, not redefine it" and says America needs a President who will respect our traditional values:

By NOM Staff | Posted in Election Watch 2012, Marriage, Marriage Election Watch, Mitt Romney, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (10)

Video: FRC's Tony Perkins Explains How Marriage Will Help Romney in Swing States This November

September 14, 2012 – 1:00 pm

At a luncheon hosted at the National Press Club, Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council explains why marriage will help Mitt Romney in swing states this November: