Anti-gay marriage attack piece in New York race

A blistering piece attacking a Republican New York state senator who was the decisive vote in the state's historic gay marriage legislation last year has been circulating over email — accusing him of being a "political whore" and asking "How far will a politician go to get in your pants?"

The piece, which appears as an attachment as if it's a direct mail piece but so far hasn't been reported as landing in inboxes, says it was paid for by the Committee to Save the Erie County Republican Party. A Google search revealed nothing about the committee, and it wasn't immediately clear who is sponsoring the group.

It laces into state Sen. Mark Grisanti, a Buffalo-area Republican who switched his vote to support gay marriage at the last minute last year.

"I cannot legally come up with an argument against same-sex marriage," Grisanti said as the bill was being debated in Albany. "Who am I to say that someone does not have the same rights that I have with my wife, who I love, or to have the 1,300-plus rights that I share with her."

"Make sure your Son [sic] says, 'Thank you, Mark Grisanti,'” the mailer says.

Grisanti and three other Republican senators who backed the state's same-sex marriage legislation were expected to face challenges over the votes, as are other candidates who have supported same-sex marriage elsewhere in the country.

Maggie Haberman is senior political reporter for Politico.