The Republican who’s running for Iowa’s first district congressional seat says G-O-P presidential nominee John McCain "snubbed" him this weekend. McCain appeared at a rally in Davenport on Saturday morning. David Hartsuch of Bettendorf, the Republican congressional candidate in that area, says McCain showed his "gay pride" by not allowing Hartsuch to speak at the rally.
According to Hartsuch, a McCain campaign official told Hartsuch he wouldn’t be allowed on the program because of comments Hartsuch made two years ago about "traditional" marriage. Hartsuch, a state senator for the past two years, backs a ban on same-sex marriage.
This weekend, Hartsuch issued a news release critical of McCain for supporting an openly-gay candidate for the U.S. House six years ago. Wendy Riemann, a spokeswoman for McCain’s Iowa campaign, issued a two-sentence statement saying McCain "believes in preserving marriage between one man and one woman." In the other sentence, Riemann said McCain’s "excited about Iowa and the prospect for a victory here." Hartsuch was not mentioned in either sentence.