NY Senate: Gay Vs Gay-Friendly

Two Democrats are running to fill the seat of openly gay NY Sen. Tom Duane, who is retiring after a distinguished career highlighted by last year's passage of marriage equality. One of those running for Duane's West Village seat is Brad Hoylman (above right), who is openly gay, engaged and the father of a 18-month old. His opponent, Tom Greco, is straight and married, but owns one of Hell's Kitchen's most popular gay bars, the Ritz. Capital New York looks at the Democratic machine aligned behind Hoylman:

Democratic State Senate candidate Brad Hoylman has locked up the support of nearly the entire Democratic establishment in his bid to succeed Tom Duane, and his opponent is trying to use that against him. "We don't just line up behind the guy whose turn in line it is," said Michael Oliva, a consultant to Hoylman's Democratic opponent, Tom Greco, a bar owner. "That kind of closed-mindedness and strict adherence to authority is for the Republicans." Oliva argues that, in contrast to Hoylman, a former general counsel to the pro-business Partnership for New York City, Greco is the true liberal in the tradition of the famously progressive district. [snip] "Many of the voters in this district struggled for civil rights in the 50s, 60s and 70s, demonstrated against wars and violence and sexual intolerance, and stood up to all manner of human injustice," he said. "They elected Bella Abzug. We want to spark that sense of rebelliousness which still burns deep within them."

I think we can categorize these "I'm more liberal than the other guy" battles as a rare embarrassment of riches.