In a move that has tickled many gay activists, North Carolina Superior Court Judge Ray Warren, an openly gay Republican-turned-Democrat, has announced his plans to join the race to succeed U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms.
Warren, who came out as a gay man two years ago, and who then quit the Republican Party, was elected to a term that runs until the end of 2002. According to The Associated Press, Warren said he will resign from the bench in about a month, but until then rules of judicial conduct bar him from officially announcing his candidacy for another office.
``In large measure, there's been great steps forward with Helms's retirement already," said Human Rights Campaign Political Director Winnie Stachelberg. ``Right now, we have to just step back and breathe easier and realize he will no longer be in the Senate and wreaking havoc on the gay community."
Warren, who lives in Charlotte, began his political career as a conservative Republican member of the state House of Representatives in 1985.
In 1996, he came close to unseating Burley Mitchell as chief justice of the state Supreme Court, and two years after that he lost another close race for the state court of appeals.
In December 1998, when Warren announced his sexual orientation, Richard Tafel, executive director of Log Cabin Republicans, said, ``Honesty and integrity are hallmarks of public service, and for this Judge Warren is a role model for public servants across the nation. He was under pressure to lie, and he would not lie. This shows he is a man of integrity and eminently qualified to hold public office."
Recently, Warren reported that he does not think his sexual orientation will be a major factor in the race. According to one report, Warren asserts, ``I would think it would be of some interest to some people, but less in the Democratic primary. While we are thinking about a November race, our focus right now is on the May primary."
Betsy Gressler, director of public affairs at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, called Warren's position in the race ``an important one," adding that, ``Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues are often not discussed in the race or by office holders once they're in office."
NGLTF, she said, will not make an endorsement of him yet until they learn more about him.
The Victory Fund would not comment until Warren applies for their endorsement.
``I'm sure Jesse Helms would not be happy about this," Gressler said. ``I'm sure that after years of venom and homophobia from the senior citizen in North Carolina, nothing could be more fitting than to have an openly gay man take his seat in the Senate."
The only Democrat who has formally declared is Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, who Stachelberg considers a very strong candidate, she said. Right now, Stachelberg says, ``We need to take the right amount of time to assess each candidate's viability in this race. We need to do that with [Warren] as with anyone else. And that's the stage we're in now."
With Helms gone, Stachelberg said, ``It's a big step forward for the gay community. We had three decades of battling with Senator Helms and it's a battle that our entire gay community does not have to do anymore."
The only declared Republican candidate to succeed Helms is former Charlotte mayor Richard Vinroot, although former cabinet member Elizabeth Dole, wife of former senator and Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole, recently changed her voting residence to North Carolina and is expected to run for the Senate seat.