A Democratic candidate has made history by appearing in an election campaign advert believed to be the first in the US to feature a same-sex kiss. Richard Madaleno, who is running in the party primary for state governor in Maryland, kisses his husband, Mark Hodge, and then says: “Take that, Trump!”

The advert aired in the Washington area during a segment on the Fox News show Fox & Friends, which the US president, Donald Trump, is known to watch.

In the advert, Madaleno says: “I’m running for governor to deliver progressive results and to stand up to Donald Trump. Here are a few of the things that I’ve done that already infuriate him.” He goes on to list defending Planned Parenthood and supporting a ban on assault weapons, before finishing the advert with the kiss.

The video has also been posted to social media channels, with Madaleno urging supporters to share it with the hashtag #TakeThatTrump. The primary on 26 June will select the Democrat to run against incumbent Republican Larry Hogan.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Maryland Democratic gubernatorial candidates (from left) Rushern Baker, Valerie Ervin, Jim Shea, Alec Ross, Richard Madaleno, Krish Vignarajah, James Jones and Ben Jealous, prepare for a debate. Photograph: Patrick Semansky/AP

The LGBTQ Victory Fund, a campaign group that works to elect LGBTQ leaders at every level of government, has backed the advert. The president and CEO of the fund, Annise Parker, said: “At a time when the White House and other anti-LGBTQ politicians are attempting to erase our visibility and roll back our rights, Rich Madaleno is boldly stating he’s proud of his family and will fight for all Marylanders if elected.”

There has been some online criticism of the advert, and not just from Trump supporters or conservative Republicans. The author Anthony Moll, who is bisexual, posted on social media to say: “I’m a queer leftist Maryland voter – I love ‘kiss-ins’ and using affection, particularly same-sex, to queer mainstream discourse. I’m still unimpressed by this Madaleno commercial. It just feels – forced, maybe? Somehow it feels neither ‘In Your Face’ nor normalising same-sex affection. It just reads like a desperate move for attention late in the game.”

Madeleno was the first openly gay member of Maryland’s general assembly, but will need to make up ground if he is to run for the governor’s office. Polls put him in fourth place in the race for the nomination, 15 points behind the leader, Ben Jealous.

Maryland legalised same-sex marriage in 2013, after a change in the law was approved in a public referendum. The state was the first to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples following a public vote on the issue.



Trump has publicly stated that he supports “traditional marriage”, and believes that the issue should be one for states to decide individually, not the supreme court.

• This article was amended on 20 June 2018 to clarify that author Anthony Moll, quoted in the piece, identifies as bisexual, not gay, as originally stated.