by Rex Wockner - SGN Contributing Writer

An openly Gay conservative Republican, Carl DeMaio, captured first place in San Diego's mayoral primary election June 5.

DeMaio and the second-place finisher, progressive Democrat Bob Filner (currently a U.S. congressman), will advance to the November 6 runoff election.

With 97% of the vote counted, DeMaio had 32%, Filner had 30%, independent Nathan Fletcher had 24%, and openly Lesbian Republican Bonnie Dumanis (San Diego County's district attorney) had 13%.

DeMaio and Filner both support same-sex marriage, but DeMaio has said that as mayor he would focus on economic issues, not LGBT activism.

San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and the second-largest in California.

The mayoral primary election is nonpartisan, with the top two vote-getters advancing to the general election regardless of their party affiliation. (If one candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, he or she is elected without a runoff.)

DeMaio's campaign has reported donations from anti-Gay activists, including at least two who helped fund the campaign for Proposition 8, which re-banned same-sex marriage in California.

Current Republican Mayor Jerry Sanders, who could not run again because of term limits, has been an outspoken supporter of same-sex marriage and testified in the federal case that struck down Prop 8 as unconstitutional. His daughter Lisa is openly Lesbian and married to a woman.

The ruling that struck down Prop 8 was affirmed by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on June 5 (see story, front page) and now is set for appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Some court-watchers believe the Supremes may decline to review the 9th Circuit's decision, which was narrowly structured to apply only to the situation in California - the only state ever to give same-sex couples the right to marry and then take that right away.

If the Supreme Court does not take the case, Prop 8 will be dead and same-sex marriage will resume in California this fall.

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