Poll Shows Parker Pulls Ahead in Houston

Could it be the anti-gay rhetoric being spewed in Texas against Annise Parker, the openly lesbian candidate in the city’s mayoral race, is hurting her rival more than it is her?

According to a post on Chron.com:

Houston’s openly gay city controller has pulled ahead in the race to be mayor of the nation’s fourth largest city, just two days before a runoff election, according to a new poll.

Parker leads former city attorney Gene Locke 49 percent to 36 percent, according to a poll released Thursday by Rice University in Houston.

Parker has never made her sexual orientation a secret or a focal point during her six years on the City Council and the last six years as controller.

But it took a more prominent role in the mayor’s race in the weeks leading up to the runoff as anti-gay activists and conservative religious groups have endorsed Locke and sent out mailers condemning Parker’s “homosexual behavior.”

Rice political science professor Robert Stein, who oversaw the poll, said the attention on Parker’s sexual orientation has probably hurt Locke more than her.

Both Locke and Parker are Democrats, and were two candidates with the most votes in the Nov. 3 election. However a runoff election is required because neither candidate took at least 50 percent of the total vote.

If Parker wins, she would become the first openly gay mayor of Houston, and make Houston the largest U.S. city with an openly gay mayor.

Since November and prior, many church and religious-right groups in the greater Houston area have been promoting Locke over Parker, but have also been slamming Parker because of her sexuality.

Perhaps at one time, and perhaps still in some areas of Texas, the anti-gay rhetoric would have paid off in the largely conservative state, but this could be a sure sign that times are changing and one’s sexuality is NOT the deciding factor in choosing leaders.