Straight talk about Republican Congressional candidate Carl DeMaio

◼ ...DeMaio has been the target of homophobic attacks. But where are those attacks coming from?... - Dana Perino/FOX

"I've found more tolerance, acceptance and inclusion from social conservative groups who have to reconcile that I'm a Republican who happens to be gay...versus the intolerance the LGBT leaders see me as a gay man who happens to be a Republican," DeMaio said.

As the race heats up and DeMaio gains in the polls ahead of the Republican primary on June 3rd, the LGBT groups have gone from silence about his candidacy to actively working against him.

“Despite claims that they insist on tolerance, diversity and acceptance on all political issues, I suspect that they really want to keep intact their alliance with unions so that they don't upset their funding sources and coalition. The Democratic groups need the GOP to remain the bogeyman because if the Republicans are no longer a threat, who needs to donate to these LGBT political groups?” he said....

But the person least interested in DeMaio’s sexual orientation is, predictably, DeMaio himself, who labors mightily to stay focused on the issues that truly concern him.

“Our economy is in the tank. We’re in a national debt crisis. The progressive agenda in D.C. is not producing results. Washington politicians from both political parties can't defend their broken programs, so they have to play the shiny object game on social issues,” he says. And so he has to find a way to talk about everything all at once, while pointedly not talking about his sexuality.

And it’s working. DeMaio has a strong record to run on, and his policy platform is solid. He is an entrepreneur who says that the economy needs to be turned around. He believes that he would not be able to succeed in today’s economy as he did in the past.