Politico reported today that Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.) told his colleagues in a recent hearing that he refuses to contribute to a GOP campaign committee because it has supported openly gay candidates.
The National Republican Campaign Committee, which works to elect Republican candidates to the U.S. House of Representatives, is in part financed by dues paid by sitting members of Congress. But Garrett complained the organization has actively recruited gay candidates such as Richard Tisei, a former Massachusetts state senator who ran unsuccessfully for the 6th Congressional District in 2012 and 2014.
From Politico’s report:
Some lawmakers grew noticeably angry, pointing out that the NRCC does not get involved in primaries, nor does it care about the sexual orientation of candidates. Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), a member of leadership who led the NRCC’s candidate recruitment during the 2014 election cycle, said that Richard Tisei, a gay Republican whom the NRCC supported, was “equally homosexual” when Garrett donated directly to him in 2012, according to a source present.
House Speaker John Boehner made clear in 2013 that he believes the party should support gay nominees. Boehner was responding to earlier remarks made by Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.), who objected to the NRCC funding openly gay candidates.
