Senate District 18 News Coverage--We won!
Check out the awesome news coverage for the Senate District 18 race! Thank you to all our supporters, allies, and lovers of equality for stepping up and making this a victory!
Cedar Rapids Gazette
Mathis’ win in Iowa Senate 18 signals good news for party, Democrats say
...Mathis supports a 2009 Iowa Supreme Court decision that struck down a state ban on same-sex marriage. Golding said that until Iowans have an opportunity to vote on the issue the state’s political energy will be focused on that single issue at the expense of Iowa’s priorities.
The issue motivated groups on both sides of the issue to get involved in the campaign with their checkbooks as well as volunteers and other assistance.
The fight will continue, Troy Price, executive director of One Iowa, said last night
“The election is over, but the battle is far from over,” Price said. He expects same-sex marriage opponents will “redouble their efforts to take away the rights of loving, committed gay and lesbian couples.”
Read the full article from The Cedar Rapids Gazette.
Chicago Pride
Gay marriage stays safe in Iowa following Senate election
...One Iowa Executive Director Troy Price said: "Tonight was a great victory for Iowans. Voters in this district clearly rejected the mean-spirited and misleading attacks of our opposition that we saw right up until the polls closed on election day. Instead, voters elected the candidate they felt would best move our state forward. We are so proud of our volunteers, staff, and supporters who helped make this victory possible. We know that Liz Mathis will be a great senator, and we look forward to working with her in the coming legislative session.
"The election is over, but the battle is far from over. Now, the focus turns to the coming legislative session where we fully expect the opponents of equality to redouble their efforts to take away the rights of loving, committed gay and lesbian couples. One Iowa will be there to stand up for marriage equality at every turn, and we are excited to work with the fair-minded Senate majority to ensure that freedom and equality remains in the heart of the heartland" Price concluded.
One Iowa is the state's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) advocacy organization, committed to full equality for LGBT individuals, including the freedom to marry.
Read the full article from Chicago Pride.
Des Moines Register
Mathis captures seat in Senate, preserving Democrats' control
Democratic candidate Liz Mathis won the $1 million special Iowa Senate race Tuesday, allowing her party to retain control of the chamber.
Democrats will maintain a 26-24 edge through the 2012 legislative session. Republicans had hoped for a 25-25 tie and the potential to move forward on now-gridlocked priorities, such as a move to begin the process to ban same-sex marriage in Iowa.
“I pledge to the voters of this district: I will go to the Capitol and fight for you every day. I will be your voice in the state Senate,” Mathis, a former television news anchor, said after her win Tuesday night.
Unofficial counts show that Mathis received 56 percent of the vote in one of the most expensive races in legislative history. Small business owner Cindy Golding, a Republican, received 44 percent.
Read the full article from The Des Moines Register.
Human Rights Campaign Blog
Liz Mathis Wins in Iowa, Keeping Marriage Equality Safe
It’s official! Liz Mathis will represent Senate District 18 in Iowa. With this victory, marriage equality remains safe in the Hawkeye State. Troy Price...[Executive Director of] One Iowa (http://www.oneiowa.org) said, “One Iowa was so happy to work with HRC on the ground in Linn County, and help secure this historic victory here in Iowa. Together, we were able to send Liz Mathis to the Senate, and help protect marriage equality during the next legislative session. This was a great victory, but we must keep fighting to keep marriage equality safe. As NOM demonstrated over these last few weeks, they are not going to sit this next election out. We look forward to working with HRC and our thousands of members and supporters across the state to help protect and elect fair-minded officials, and ensure that equality remains in the heart of the heartland.”
HRC organizer Dominique Salice recapped her time in Iowa saying, “Door knocking farms in rural sections of the district put a whole new meaning to our ‘field work’. We left no door unknocked…even when we found ourselves driving miles between houses and when we were followed by farm dogs and the occasional horse.
Read the full article from the Human Rights Campaign.
Iowa Independent
Mathis wins, Democrats maintain Senate control
...In addition to being a victory for state Democrats, the race was also welcomed as a victory for LGBT Iowans. If the outcome had been different, a possibility existed that a House Republican plan to begin a constitutional amendment process would move forward.
...Troy Price, executive director of One Iowa, the state’s largest LGBT advocacy group, heralded the election results as “a great victory for Iowans.”
”Voters in this district clearly rejected the mean-spirited and misleading attacks of our opposition that we saw right up until the polls closed on election day. Instead, voters elected the candidate they felt would best move our state forward. We are so proud of our volunteers, staff, and supporters who helped make this victory possible. We know that Liz Mathis will be a great senator, and we look forward to working with her in the coming legislative session.”
“The election is over, but the battle is far from over. Now, the focus turns to the coming legislative session where we fully expect the opponents of equality to redouble their efforts to take away the rights of loving, committed gay and lesbian couples,” added Price.
“One Iowa will be there to stand up for marriage equality at every turn, and we are excited to work with the fair-minded Senate majority to ensure that freedom and equality remains in the heart of the heartland.”
Read the full article from Iowa Independent.
IowaPolitics.com
Democrats best Republicans in Senate District 18
... Democrats have used the slim majority to block debate on a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, which has been legal in Iowa since 2009.
The issue mobilized special interests on both sides of the issue, but Troy Price, executive director of One Iowa, the state's largest gay-rights organization, said same-sex marriage had very little influence on the final result.
"I think that this was a local election," Price said. "I think people in this district were looking for a state senator that was going to vote on the issues Iowans care most about."
Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, said he was encouraged by the win and looked forward to working with Mathis in January.
Read the full article from IowaPolitics.com.
KCRG-TV
Liz Mathis Wins State Senate District 18
Click here to check out some great photographs from KCRG as Mathis wins the Senate District 18 race.
Marion Patch
Democrat Mathis Wins Crucial Iowa District 18 Senate Race
...The win in one of the most expensive Iowa state elections ever allows Democrats to keep its majority in the senate and hold back pushes to ban gay marriage and other controversial measures.
“Tonight I want to thank the voters of Senate District 18,” Mathis said in a statement after a convincing win to claim the vacant District 18 seat. "And I also want to thank the organizations that represent equal rights for all in the state of Iowa."
Mathis, a former television anchor for KCRG-TV9 who currently works as chief information officer for the Cedar Rapids-based nonprofit Four Oaks, was making her first run for office. She defeated Cindy Golding, a businesswoman from rural Cedar Rapids, by an unnofficial 56 percent to 44 percent margin in Tuesday's election.
Read the full article from Marion Patch.
Metro Weekly
Election Day 2011: Liveblog
11:05 P.M. - IOWA - The Iowa Independent reports that the "final" results in the balance-of-power state Senate special election race went to the Democrat, Liz Mathis. With 55.8 percent of the vote, she bested Republican Cindy Golding, who received 43.52 percent of the vote. Mathis's victory means the state Senate stays in Democratic control, stopping an attempt at reversing marriage equality in the state. Freedom to Marry president Evan Wolfson said in a statement, "The voters rebuffed the anti-gay attacks that sought to make undoing the freedom to marry a critical factor in the race, and instead elected a candidate who supports the freedom to marry for all Iowa families. One Iowa worked hard to make sure that marriage remains secure in Iowa and to elect a legislator who will focus on the real challenges confronting the state."
11:25 P.M. - MORE ON IOWA - According to a release from the Human Rights Campaign, "HRC contributed to Liz Mathis' victory by placing five full-time field organizers in the 18th Senate District during the final weeks of the campaign."
Read the full article from Metro Weekly.
Reuters
Democrats retain control of Iowa's state Senate
...The contest to represent Linn County in the state Senate was closely watched. Had Republicans won the race, control of the 50-seat state Senate would have been evenly split.
That would have given Republicans a fresh chance to push through measures -- including a ban on same-sex marriage -- that Democrats had been able to block with their 26-24 edge.
Voter Monica Marlin said she liked "a lot of the things" Golding stood for. But she voted for Mathis because she wanted to keep same-sex marriage legal.
Read the full article from Reuters.
Think Progress
Bubble Burst: NOM Silent After Expensive Iowa Loss
...In this special state Senate election, the DC-based group [the National Organization for Marriage (NOM)] spent around $40,000 supporting Republican Cindy Golding, again trying to paint the entire election as being about the singular issue of same-sex marriage. But this time they failed — in fact, Democrat Liz Mathis won with a healthy 55 percent of the vote. NOM has not even mentioned the election today, with the exception of its cultural director, Thomas Peters, who turned tail after the race and blamed Golding for being “a weak candidate.”
Alvin McEwen points out that despite NOM’s grotesque campaign spending and new self-victimizing campaigns, its leaders have “gone into hiding.” There have been no public appearances by Brian Brown, Maggie Gallagher, or NOM’s radical new chairman, John Eastman, suggesting the organization is prioritizing its spending power. The group’s immense funding comes from a select few donors, but its attempts to keep them anonymous by fighting state campaign finance laws are failing left and right. And in Iowa, NOM spent the last day on the defense, separating itself from anti-gay robo calls it claimed to know nothing about. It’s no wonder the organization is trying to garner sympathy through its self-victimizing — they know that support for their issue is floundering, as is the power they thought they had to enforce it.
NOM is a corporate bully, a vindictive outside force with a singular agenda that becomes less popular with every passing day. No doubt, this week’s failure was a lesson in humility. But as long as NOM keeps funneling money into states to advance its anti-gay prerogative, it should continue to be seen as the solitary tyrant that it truly is.
Read the full article from Think Progress.
Towleroad
Huge Round-Up of LGBT Election Results: Highlights and Stinkers Across the Country
...Liz Mathis beat Cindy Golding in Iowa's special election holding off what might have been a legislative threat to marriage equality in the state, and keeping Democrats in control of the Senate. This is a HUGE loss for NOM and other anti-gay groups, which poured money into the state to defeat Mathis and used hideous robocalls at the last minute.
Iowa Independent: "Liz Mathis, 43, won a clear victory in a special election Tuesday by earning 13,184 votes or 55.8 percent support, according to the Linn County Auditor’s Office. Cindy Golding, her Republican opponent garnered 10,283 votes or 43.52 percent support. The Constitution Party’s Jon Tack earned 151 votes and just under 1 percent support from voters in the 40 precincts that currently comprise Senate District 18."
Read the full article from Towleroad.
Vital Voice
Marriage Equality Safe in Iowa; Victory in Chicago
CHICAGO - Equality Illinois, the state's oldest and largest organization advancing full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, congratulated its allies in Iowa, Nov. 8 on the successful defense of pro-marriage equality majority in Iowa's state legislature.
Marriage equality in Iowa, the only Midwestern state to allow same-sex couples to marry, was hanging in the balance in today's special election. Equality Illinois supported neighboring Iowans by mobilizing its members to canvass and phone-bank in support of marriage equality in that state.
"Through its constitutional process, Iowa recognized the right of all couples to marry and to receive the protections that come with marriage. It was important for us to support our neighbors to the West and show that marriage equality is the winning proposition," Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of Equality Illinois, said.
"We congratulate all progressive Iowans on tonight's important victory," Randy Hannig, Equality Illinois Director of Public Policy, said. "Equality Illinois is proud of the work of One Iowa, Lambda Legal, HRC, and many other organizations who helped bring about this victory."
Read the full article from Vital Voice.
Washington Blade
Democratic win preserves marriage rights in Iowa
A Democratic candidate won a special election on Tuesday for a seat in the Iowa State Senate — a victory that will preserve marriage rights in the state.
...Troy Price, executive director of One Iowa, called Mathis’ win “a great victory for Iowans” in a statement.
“Voters in this district clearly rejected the mean-spirited and misleading attacks of our opposition that we saw right up until the polls closed on Election Day,” Price said. “Instead, voters elected the candidate they felt would best move our state forward.”
...Price continued that although the election is over, the “battle is far from over” to preserve marriage rights in the Hawkeye State.
...In the wake of the election, national LGBT groups praised Mathis’ win and said her victory means voters were able to reject anti-gay attacks and elect a fair-minded candidate.
Read the full article from The Washington Blade.
WOI-TV
Democrat Liz Mathis Wins Senate District 18 Seat
...With Mathis' win, Democrats will retain their majority in the senate and for now can breathe a sigh of relief.
The campaign had been a six week whirlwind for Golding and Mathis, with outside groups like National Organization for Marriage spending tons of money to help the GOP ease their way toward action on a variety of issues, including seeking a ban on gay marriage, introducing anti–abortion measures and cuts to business taxes.
"This is a great victory, it's a great victory for the people of Iowa. It shows voters rejected the negative and mean spirited campaigning that we saw by our opposition," said Troy Price, Executive Director of One Iowa, the state's largest gay rights group.
Read the full article from WOI-TV.
Thank you once again to all our supporters. We truly could not have done this without you! Though tonight is a time for celebration, we must not forget that our fight is far from over. During the last legislative session, we saw several attempts to undermine marriage equality. We can expect these fights to only intensify during the coming legislative session. Donate today to help ensure we can support Sen. Mathis and the fair-minded majority stand up for gay and lesbian Iowans.
