September 14, 2011 – 12:40 am
Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), released the following statement following Bob Turner's historic victory over David Weprin in the special election held today in New York's 9th Congressional District tonight:
“NY-9 is another victory for marriage in our country. This district, which Obama won, Clinton won, and which has had a Democrat in Congress since 1923, showed Tuesday that marriage is important. David Weprin was not able to defend himself against his vote to support same-sex marriage in New York, and his constituents made that clear. 42 percent of them oppose same-sex marriage. 29 percent said marriage was a significant issue in this race. And on Tuesday, well over a majority of them showed Weprin that they have had enough.
“NOM played a major role in this election, helping to organize the Jewish and Hispanic communities to coalesce with Republicans, conservative and other pro-family voters. We mounted the first and largest independent expenditure campaign in the race to make marriage a key issue, and we succeeded. David Weprin is not going to Congress for one reason: he listened to Andrew Cuomo, Michael Bloomberg, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and a few billionaires on Wall Street and went along with them to redefine marriage. Weprin foolishly believed them when they promised to protect him from any fallout over his vote to redefine marriage. The HRC even has gone so far as to absurdly claim that no politician has ever been defeated over his or her vote to redefine marriage, even though NOM is responsible for defeating countless same-sex marriage advocates and electing hundreds of candidates who have pledged their support for traditional marriage."
"Our message to the rest of the politicians in Albany who voted to redefine marriage is this: 'You’re next.' Once again voters have said: 'Don’t Mess With Marriage!'"
September 14, 2011 – 12:22 am
Erik Erickson explains the election upset in NY-9:
"...the voters in NY-09 rejected David Welprin’s vote in favor of gay marriage. Yes, yet again we see a reliably Democrat area rebel against Democrats pushing gay marriage."
September 14, 2011 – 12:11 am
The Associated Press just declared the special election in NY-9 a victory for Bob Turner, who is currently leading pro-SSM David Weprin by over 6%. This is the first time the seat has been held by a Republican since 1923.
We also know this is a huge victory for marriage -- more from us on that soon!
Our President Brian Brown is at Bob Turner HQ watching Turner take the stage right now!
Thank you and congratulations to everyone who joined us in defeating David Weprin, sending a loud-and-clear message: don't mess with marriage!
For a recap of our complete coverage of this race, check-out this link.
Update -- Brian Brown tweets this photo of Bob Turner and the Turner family:
Update 2 - Read Brian Brown's special statement on tonight's result in NY-9 and what it means for marriage in New York and beyond.
September 13, 2011 – 11:53 pm
299 out of 512 precincts reporting:
Turner:
21,857 (53%)
Weprin:
19,071 (46%)
We should be able to call this by the end of tonight.
September 13, 2011 – 11:40 pm
Congratulations to the people of North Carolina! The North Carolina Senate did the right thing, voting this afternoon to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2012, and trusting the people of North Carolina with the future of marriage.
Over the past two days, both the House and the Senate have approved the measure with the constitutionally required three-fifths majority, referring the marriage amendment to the people of North Carolina next year. And of course, NOM will be there to help every step of the way.
The big lie in politics is that the marriage fight is over. But this vote proves once again the pundits are wrong, the people want the right to decide the future of marriage. NOM reached out to more than 100,000 North Carolinians in the last few days, making sure they told their representatives they want the right to vote for marriage.
Congratulations to each and every North Carolinian voter for this big win, and thanks in particular to Family Research Council, North Carolina Family Policy Council and the North Carolina Values Coalition for all their hard work in making this vote happen.
Tonight, I'll be in Brooklyn, where we hope to celebrate another big win for marriage in New York's Ninth Congressional District.
We'll keep you posted!
September 13, 2011 – 9:58 pm
Of course, we have 511 precincts to go! Follow the results via the AP.
September 13, 2011 – 9:53 pm
Brian is in NY-9, with the Turner Victory (We Hope!) Party. Watch with us online!
David Weigel over at Slate offers a guide to results:
I'll be following the elections all night on this page. Do you want to see results? Of course you do.
NY-09 is here.
NV-02 is here.
NY-09 is going to be the story of the night, the one that Democrats have tried to bail out as David Weprin's momentum has stuttered. The raw totals from the AP won't be terribly useful; my friend David Wasserman has broken down the district in a more illustrative way.
Woodhaven/Ozone Park, Queens - The lowest-turnout region of the district, but the one where Barack Obama did best in 2008 -- 73 percent of the vote.
Forest Hills/Rego Park, Queens - This is the strong, diverse Democratic base of the district, where Barack Obama won 66 percent of the vote while winning district-wide by 10 points.
Fresh Meadows/Kew Garden Hills, Queens - Obama's last stronghold, where he won 64 percent of the vote.
Middle Village/Maspeth/Glendale, Queens - Obama won only 50 percent here, a bastion of ethnic (Italian) white voters.
Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn - Obama won 42 percent of the vote here. Watch these precincts for signs of a Turner rout.
Marine Park/Rockaway Beach/Howard Beach, Brooklyn/Queens - The GOP stronghold, which swung to Republicans after 9/11 and delivered 76 percent of the vote for McCain in 2008.
September 13, 2011 – 8:20 pm
It's already been a great day for marriage -- with North Carolina voting to allow the people to vote on it in 2012 -- but we still have an important election to watch which is being decided right now by the voters of Queens and Brooklyn in New York's 9th Congressional District.
Stay tuned here throughout the night for live updates from us!
And if you haven't already, come out and vote for marriage in NY-9!
September 13, 2011 – 8:00 pm
Gotham Gazette is reporting that Bob Turner's campaign has a court order impounding all paper ballots -- after 5 dead people were sent absentee ballots.
September 13, 2011 – 7:09 pm
Major media outlets are noticing that quite simply, marriage matters in NY-9:
Washington Post: "[Among NY-9's unique quirks:] an Orthodox Jewish community and a large bloc of Catholics in the district that dislike Weprin’s vote for the New York same-sex marriage law, Weprin’s awkwardness as a candidate — this is all you need to know about that — and a lingering case of buyer’s remorse from voters who elected Weiner over Turner in 2010."
National Journal: Weprin is an Orthodox Jew and for years represented that constituency in the state Assembly. But his vote in favor of gay marriage last spring drew significant protest. He’s been down among Orthodox Jews by a 2-1 margin since entering the race.
FoxNews: Weprin, an Orthodox Jew, has been on the defensive on gay marriage and Israel, which could peel away some support from the Orthodox community. He voted in favor of same-sex nuptials in the New York Assembly, and some Jewish voters have threatened to withhold support for Weprin because they disapprove of Obama's policies toward the Jewish state.
September 13, 2011 – 3:29 pm
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 13, 2011
Mary Beth Hutchins or Elizabeth Ray at 703-683-5004
"The North Carolina legislature did the right thing in trusting the people of North Carolina with the future of marriage in 2012," said Brian Brown, president of NOM. “The National Organization for Marriage pledges to help!"
Washington – Brian Brown, president of NOM, reacts to the news that the North Carolina legislature voted by a three-fifths majority to refer a marriage amendment to the people of North Carolina in 2012.
"This is a big win for marriage and for democracy!" says Brian Brown. "The big lie in politics is that the marriage fight is over. This vote proves once again the pundits are wrong: the people want the right to decide the future of marriage. NOM reached out to more than 100,000 North Carolinians in the last few days, making sure they told their representatives they want the right to vote for marriage. Congratulations to each and every North Carolinian voter for this big win, and thanks in particular to the Family Research Council, North Carolina Family Policy Council and the North Carolina Values Coalition for all their hard work in making this vote happen.”
To schedule an interview with Brian Brown, President of the National Organization for Marriage, please contact Mary Beth Hutchins (x105), [email protected], or Elizabeth Ray (x130), [email protected], at 703-683-5004.
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September 13, 2011 – 1:29 pm
VICTORY!!
The North Carolina Senate just voted to allow the people to vote on a constitutional amendment protecting marriage in May of 2012 by a vote of 30-16.
More from us soon -- thank you once again to everyone who took action to encourage their elected representatives to allow the people to vote!
UPDATE: Here's an early report by the NC News Observer.
September 13, 2011 – 12:42 pm
He writes:
...People who work in New York's Orthodox Jewish politics say that David Weprin's support for same-sex marriage has been a major issue in the district, whose Orthodox Jews aren't the closely-knit Chasids who don't care much about which outsiders marry one another, but more traditional social conservative voters.
UPDATE: The issue does [...] show up in polling: 29% identified it to PPP as important.
As we mentioned, a further 26% in that poll identified marriage as "somewhat important" to their final choice of who to support in NY-9. That means a majority of NY-9 voters (55%) see marriage as either very or somewhat important in deciding who they will vote for today.
Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), released the following statement following Bob Turner's historic victory over David Weprin in the special election held today in New York's 9th Congressional District tonight:
