Pro-Same-Sex-Marriage-Hawaii Governor Defeated in Democratic Primary Abercrombie and Flinch

By FRC

“Gay marriage supporters push hard,” the headline read. Maybe too hard. In Hawaii, Democratic Governor Neil Abercrombie made the mistake of caving to those supporters — and, as far as he’s concerned, it cost him his job. Back in November of 2013, Abercrombie called a special session to legalize same-sex “marriage,” instead of giving voters a voice. Rather than put the issue on the ballot, as thousands of people asked for, he fast-tracked the bill through the legislature.

Unfortunately for Abercrombie, he may have stopped Hawaiians from voting on marriage, but he couldn’t stop them from voting in the primary. And that’s where most of the state had the say they’d been waiting for. For the first time in Hawaii’s history, a Democratic Governor was unseated in the primary. And handily. Abercrombie lost by a landslide, conceding a massive 2-1 margin to his opponent, despite outspending him 10-1. This weekend, he blamed the disaster on his decision to redefine marriage.

“Republicans crossed over en masse to vote in the Democratic primary, and then the religious factor came in. Doctrinally I was outside the circle and paid for it.” Nothing, not even a full bank account, could help him recover once local pastors and churches engaged. “I had more money than my opponent… raised more money, spent more money,” Abercrombie said, “but it didn’t do me any good.”

Of course, the media would have you believe that the debate over marriage is over. But the next time you’re tempted to believe them, ask Neil Abercrombie how “over” the discussion really is. Thanks to this election, he’ll have plenty of time to answer.