A Gay Democrat Seeks a Congressional Seat in a Deep Red District
Kentucky’s First Congressional District, located in the western part of the state, is considered safely and solidly Republican.
Its current representative is a staunch opponent of LGBTQ+ equality and has been known to send homophobic messages over Twitter.
It sounds like a challenging place for a gay man to run for office, but that hasn’t stopped Jimmy Ausbrooks.Ausbrooks, a mental health counselor, ran unopposed in the district’s Democratic primary this year, and he’s facing U.S.
Rep. James Comer in the November general election.Comer is no friend to LGBTQ+ people. He’s received zeroes on the Human Rights Campaign’s Congressional Scorecard throughout his tenure, which began in 2017, and he once sent a bizarre text message in which he called a fellow Republican, political consultant Tres Watson, “Gay Watson.” Comer has sent other “vulgar” and “abusive” text messages over the years, according to Louisville’s Courier-Journal.
