GOP sees big vote gains on marriage initiative

Erin Neff

Monday, July 8, 2002 | 11:10 a.m.

With more than 70 percent of Nevadans already behind Question 2, the ballot initiative is sure to both pass this fall and, some say, pass on votes to conservative candidates.

Question 2 seeks to amend the Nevada Constitution to define that marriage can be only between a man and woman. The measure passed in 2000 with 70 percent in favor and needs to pass again in November to amend the constitution.

Proponents and conservatives think the issue will have a trickle-down effect, pushing Republicans into office -- especially in Assembly races.

"A mood has been set by 70 percent of the voters, so if a candidate supports it, it can't help but help them," said Richard Ziser, head of the coalition that wrote the initiative. "Anybody that stands on the side of 70 percent of the voters will have an advantage."

The Coalition for the Protection of Marriage has already started its advertising drive for this fall's general election with a billboard prominently displayed on Interstate 15 urging: "Protect Marriage. Vote Yes on 2."

Clark County GOP Chairman Steve Wark said he thinks Question 2 will have a coattail effect, but only for candidates who publicly support the policy issues raised by the initiative.

"I don't think that any candidate can take any group's support for granted," Wark said.

Question 2 will have its greatest impact in districts with close voter registration between Democrats and Republicans, Wark said.

"It will give Republicans who are running in swing districts a significant chance to pick up votes on that issue," he said.

The Democratic Party, which officially opposes the initiative, is quietly struggling over how candidates can remain true to the platform and general party ideals and opposed to what 70 percent of voters already have said they want.

Party leaders, like Lindsey Jydstrup of the state Democratic Caucus and State Democratic Chairman Terry Care, publicly downplay how much Question 2 will affect candidates.

In 2000, Jydstrup noted, some precincts that voted heavily in support of Question 2 also voted for Democratic Assembly candidates.

"It didn't really have an impact last time," Jydstrup said.

Care added that while it is "very awkward to say that you oppose something that 70 percent of the people support," he believes voters will be more concerned about medical malpractice, the state's budget crisis and power concerns.

"When you talk about the state legislative races, people really do look at the candidates," Care said.

Jydstrup said many Democrats draw a distinction between voting on Question 2 and supporting other issues Ziser's group also favors.

Ziser, a Republican, originally said the constitutional amendment was necessary -- even though state law already bans gay marriage -- because he did not want Nevada to recognize gay marriages performed elsewhere.

He also said he does not want alternative lifestyles taught in school.

The coalition's billboard, featuring a bride and groom and a blue heart topped with a diamond to give it the appearance of a wedding ring, is viewed by some as little more than cloaked gay-bashing.

"It's going to be a five-month gay-bashing campaign," said Dan Hinkley, founder of the Southern Nevada Stonewall Democrat Club. "For me it's fundamental. The Constitution is a document that protects rights.

"To put this kind of garbage in the Constitution is an assault on rights," added Hinkley, whose organization serves as a Democratic-based political advocacy group for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered communities.

Ziser and Hinkley -- like their respective parties -- represent the extreme opposites of the issue.

Republicans voted to support Question 2 as one of the planks in their party platform, while Democrats voted to "vigorously oppose" it.

Most political candidates don't fall as neatly into such categories.

Some Democratic candidates put their religious beliefs before party platform. John Hunt, a Catholic running for attorney general, and John Lee, a Mormon running for state controller, will both vote for the measure.

Congressional candidate Dario Herrera, a recent convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said he will vote against the measure, simply because he calls it unnecessary.

U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and his son Rory Reid -- a candidate for the Clark County Commission -- both support Question 2.

Most Republicans also support Question 2, but in some primary races, aggressive campaigning for the initiative may help more conservative candidates.

For example, state Assemblywoman Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, highlights family values in her campaign literature for state Senate District 8 by citing her 22-year marriage, her sons and her church membership.

Her primary opponent, Tom Christensen, goes a bit further, saying he supports the traditional family structure -- "without qualification or compromise."

"While we should never deny others the associations of their choice, I believe the community also has a responsibility to affirm the importance of the traditional family structure," Christensen says in a mailer.