Two men on opposite sides of the country are trying to widen the GOP's tent.

The political parties seem more polarized than ever, especially on LGBT issues: In July, the GOP endorsed what many consider to be its most homophobic platform ever.

But there are still a surprising number of gay people aligning with the Republican Party: Recent polls indicate some 20% of LGBT voters plan on pulling the level for Donald Trump.

And it’s not just voters: There were numerous LGBT Republicans in congressional primaries, and two have made it to the general election.

There’s only been two openly gay Republicans in Congress, and both came out after being elected: Rep. Jim Kolbe of Arizona came out in 1996 after his vote for the Defense of Marriage Act led to threats by activists to out him. (Colby retired in 2007.)

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And Rep. Steve Gunderson (above) was outed on the House floor in 1994 by fellow Republican Bob Dornan, during a debate on LGBT-friendly school curriculums. (Gunderson was the only congressional Republican to vote against DOMA.)

Clay Cope, on the other hand, comes to politics as an out-and-proud 53-year-old running for Congress in Connecticut’s 5th District.

A former marketing executive for QVC, Cope describes himself as a fiscal conservative who favors deregulation and a free-market economy.

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He’s also endorsing Trump, another businessman-turned-politician: “I used to say ABC—anybody but Clinton—but now I say vote for Trump,” he told NBC.

His is a fairly moderate district—”this is not the Bible Belt,” he told Bloomberg—so Cope’s sexuality hasn’t ruffled too many feathers.

In fact, being a Republican in true-blue New England is a bigger hurdle. He’s got to unseat twice-elected Democratic incumbent Elizabeth Esty.



Born in Texas, Cope is currently First Selectman in the town of Sherman, where he lives with his partner, Andres Sanchez.

According to his campaign site, Cope’s goals in Congress include “a balanced federal budget, lower federal taxes and spending—along with meaningful immigration reform, effective border security, and improved national security.”

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A convert to Catholicism, he says he tries to follow the doctrines of his faith, “but I also respect Roe v. Wade.” He’s also open about his intention to marrying Sanchez.

Mayor Mark Boughton of Danbury, who’s worked with Cope closely and has given him his endorsement, says the GOP needs to open its tent to gay conservatives.

“If [the party] continues to engage in discouraging good candidates, including fiscal conservatives like Cope, then we’ll end up being a dinosaur.”

Paul Babeau, an Arizona sheriff running for the House of Representatives, doesn’t have such a great image: He initially ran for the House in 2012, but pulled out after news broke that he allegedly threatened to deport his boyfriend, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, if he outed Babeu.



Later, it was revealed that, when Babeu ran a private boarding school in Massachusetts in the late ’90s, authorities investigated the school for abusive disciplinary practices.

A campaign spokesman insists Babeu had “nothing, zip, zero, zilch” to do with discipline at the school, but a home video showed him praising their techniques.

Babeu’s own sister claimed he had an “inappropriate” relationship with a 17-year-old student at the school, which shut down in 2004. (Another sister has publicly endorsed his opponent.)



Even with all that, though, experts are calling the race a toss up: Democratic incumbent Ann Kirkpatrick is running for Senate, so he’s campaigning for an open seat.

And Babeu has come out strong against undocumented immigrants—some critics accuse him of fear-mongering—which plays well in border states.

He’s scored face time on Fox News and even got to press President Obama on gun laws during the president’s town hall on guns in America back in January.

National media attention and strong ties to the right-wing base are a potent combination. And, not for nothing, Arizonans re-elected Jim Kolbe five more times after he came out.

Will the 115th Congress include one or more queer Republicans? We won’t know (at least) until November 8. But we suppose its a sign of progress that Cope and Babeu and gotten this far—and received support from the national party, even if it rejects them in its platform.

“I don’t think the party is the platform,” insists Cope. “Voters vote for candidates not a party platform. I don’t agree with every aspect of the platform, but I am focused on issues.”

Below, Raymond Braun asks delegates at the Republican National Convention why a Trump presidency would be good for the LGBT community.





