LANSING, MI — Political candidates are flooded with questionnaires during campaign season, but Michigan House hopeful Josh Derke was shocked when he read one particular piece of mail from Public Advocate of the United States.

The candidate survey asked if he would oppose attempts to add “homosexuality,” “transsexuality” or “pedophilia” to Michigan’s anti-discrimination law.

One of these things is not like the other, he noted, but the response options -- "yes" or "no" -- didn't provide room for distinction.

“I was taken aback. I’ve got some surveys about standing for family values, but I didn’t think I’d get one that had this kind of rhetoric,” Derke, a Democrat running for the 93rd District seat out of Bath, told MLive.

“The combination of those three things, I find that offensive. They’re not the same. These kind of questions are written to trick you.”

Michigan’s Republican-led Legislature is considering calls to add gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender protections to the state’s anti-discrimination law. Pedophilia, a criminal offense, is certainly not part of the policy debate.

Michigan House candidate Josh Derke, D-Bath

Public Advocate is a Virginia-based 501c4 non-profit run by activist Eugene Delgaudio.

The group is not associated with any Michigan campaign, but it recently filed a court briefing defending Michigan's gay marriage ban.

Delgaudio has also suggested that Republican Gov. Rick Snyder doomed himself to "certain condemnation" when he encouraged lawmakers to consider an Elliott-Larsen update.

The survey, sent to political candidates across Michigan with a note indicating that responses would be shared with undisclosed Public Advocate members, also asked if they support “REAL MARRIAGE” and would refuse to accept donations from “the homosexual lobby” or its allies.

But it was the pedophilia question that really stood out to Derke, who supports LGBT rights and same-sex marriage. He responded with a fiery letter to Delgaudio that he posted on his campaign website.

“You and your group should be ashamed for sending this pile of excrement,” Derke wrote. “And I hope that if there is even a shred of humanity within you that you feel a twinge of guilt and shame for comparing loving couples and parents to pedophiles.”

Delgaudio, for his part, stood by the questionnaire, noting that Michigan candidates on both sides of the aisle have already accepted campaign contributions from wealthy LGBT rights supporters.

“We’re against any kind of bizarre behavior being protected under anti-discrimination laws. If you’re saying homosexuality is not bizarre, I understand, that’s your position,” he told MLive.

“We’re not singling out gays and saying gays are pedophiliacs, or that they’re supporting pedophilia. We’re just asking, would you agree to oppose that?”

Delgaudio said he is concerned that a judge could interpret the phrase “sexual orientation” in a variety of ways. He mentioned relationships with inanimate objects or multiple wives.

Anti-discrimination legislation that Democrats introduced this month in the state House and Senate clearly defines sexual orientation to mean “having an orientation for heterosexuality, homosexuality or bisexuality.”

Derke, a 26-year-old who recently graduated from the University of Michigan, is a political newcomer and decided underdog in his general election matchup with incumbent Rep. Tom Leonard, R-Lansing.

Jonathan Oosting is a Capitol reporter for MLive Media Group. Email him, find him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.