A gay Massachusetts state lawmaker whose campaign ad went viral and grabbed national attention fell short in a bid for Congress.
Results from an Oct. 15 special primary election to fill a House of Representative seat vacated by Edward J. Markey, now serving in the US Senate, showed Carl M. Sciortino Jr. in third placea respectably showing in field of seven Democrats, nearly all of them touting liberal credentials along the campaign trail.
Sciortino trailed the winner, state Sen. Katherine M. Clark by 10,774 votes, as well as second-place finisher Middlesex County Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian by 4,105 votes.
Clark received 32 percent of the vote, with Koutoujian and Sciortino at 22 percent and 16 percent respectively.
Although lagging in public opinion polls early on, Sciortino's campaign picked up steam with a catchy TV commercial last month, featuring the 35-year son's coming out to his Tea Partier dad.
"I had to tell him ... I'm a Massachusetts liberal," says Sciortino on camera in the 30-second spot in which he staked out a host of progressive stances on everything from reproductive rights to assault-weapons ban and universal background checks, from equal pay for women to "equal rights for, well, everybody."
The rights-for-everybody line was a thinly veiled reference to Sciortino's passionate advocacy on Beacon Hill for marriage equality ( 2004 to 2007 ) and more recently transgender civil rights.
The TV ad, titled "Father's Son" ( www.youtube.com/watch ), caught the eye of Chris Matthews, who highlighted the father and son duo on MSNBC's Hardball.
Even in endorsing Clark, the Boston Globe mentioned the ad's effectiveness. "If there were Academy Awards for political commercials, the Sciortinos should share the Best Actor award," noted the newspaper's endorsement editorial.
The Massachusetts Fifth Congressional District, which gave Barack Obama a 30-percent margin over Republican Mitt Romney last November, runs north outside of Boston across to the city's western suburbs.
Because of its liberal leanings, Clark is favored to win handily. And if she prevails, Clark will become the fifth woman in state history elected to the House, joining currently serving Representative Niki Tsongas of the Third Congressional District.
One political observer, who asked not to be identified, attributed Clark's win to "identity politics," he said. "Voters wanted a woman."
Throughout her campaign Clark in fact emphasized women's issues. "Extremist Republicans in the House," she said in a Democratic forum last month, "are trying to take away a woman's right to choose," while at the same time "they are trying to deny millions of Americans the right to affordable health insurance."
Clark's campaign received a boost from EMILY's List, a national group that backs women running for office who favor abortion rights. The organization spent at least $145,000 on phone banks and mailings in recent weeks, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission, reported in the Boston Globe.
The Associated Press called the race for Clark by 9:30 p.m., an hour and half after the polls closed. Shortly thereafter, Sciortino tweeted his support for her, writing, "Congratulations to Katherine Clark and a huge thanks to my awesome campaign team and all my wonderful supporters."
On election night a group of about 100 people, Sciortino backers, gathered at the Medford Elks Lodge, where he addressed them."
The campaign felt incredibly personal to me," Sciortino said, referring to the campaign ad starring his father.
"He sends his regards," Sciortino quipped. "He's at Tea Party command central."
Although Congress had not yet crafted a legislative deal to reopen the federal government, Sciortino spoke to the toxic climate in Washington, D.C.
"This [situation] right now is so unhealthy. We need to show people that we can disagree fundamentally; we can fight to the end on our values, but can also get along." he said. "We can also love one another."
The "Father's Son" ad, in speaking to divisiveness and discord in national political discourse, struck a positive chord.
In a brief interview afterwards, Sciortino explained reactions to the ad was all-out, thumbs-up approval. "People loved it," he said, especially "folks reconnecting with parents or people who were estranged politically. Seeing [the ad] was powerful."
Sciortino was first elected to the state Legislature in 2004 at the height of the battle to protect same-sex marriage rights. In a bitter race, he won narrowly by only 93 votesupsetting a long-time incumbent lawmaker adamantly opposed to marriage equality.
Sciortino is now one of a little more than a handful of openly gay lawmakers on Beacon Hill and has been at the forefront of progressive legislative issues.
Accordingly, he enjoyed widespread support among LGBT's locally and beyond.
"I supported Carl because he is both a friend and a solid liberal," said Cambridge resident Arthur Lipkin, a longtime gay-rights activist. "Since he was an undergraduate at Tufts, I've known him to be a principled progressive and a dear person. He works hard on behalf of working folks and marginalized people and is a champion of women's and LGBT rights."
Sciortino, whose legislative district includes parts of the cities of Medford and Somerville, also garnered respect and support from elected officials.
"I was with Carl from the beginning because he speaks from the heart," said Medford's Mayor Michael J. McGlynn who was among the gathering at the Elks Lodge. "He has a sincere interest in helping people and knows how to bring people together around issues."
Local and national LGBT organizations endorsed Sciortino's bid for Congress, including the Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ), Victory Fund, and MassEquality, a statewide, grass-roots advocacy group.
In its endorsement, Mass Equality said that none of the candidates "have been the leader Carl has been on LGBTQ and progressive issues."
For her part, Katherine Patrick, the gay daughter of Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, also endorsed Sciortino.
"Despite yesterday's loss, his political future is bright," said Marty Rouse, HRC's national field director, in email correspondence.
"He has been a leader in the fight for LGBT equality," Rouse added. "And we look forward to the promising future ahead of Carl Sciortino."
"I think Carl Sciortino's an amazing person to work for," said Matt Larson, his campaign manager. "He is the only candidate who outperformed expectations that were set from the beginning. He's the real deal, a great progressive who is personally smart, articulate and able to rally people behind him."
Asked about future plans, Sciortino replied, "I hope to go on a honeymoonbut not in D. C."
Sciortino, 35, married his partner of five years, Pem Brown, 25, Oct. 5, with Freedom to Marry's national campaign director, Marc Solomon, presiding.
While disappointed with the loss, Solomon, who was on hand at the Elks Lodge on election night, said of Sciortino's run, "He established himself as a progressive champion in Massachusetts building a strong platform here locally and nationally to voice advocacy on LGBT equality and on progressive values."
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