UPDATE: Illinois Family Action, the state's most prominent traditional values' group, says they're confused by this announcement. See below for what they're thinking …
SPRINGFIELD – The Log Cabin Republicans of Illinois announced Tuesday they are endorsing Tom Tarter, a cancer surgeon from the Springfield area, as their pick for the US Senate GOP primary on March 17th.
"Dr. Tarter wil be a strong voice to fix our broken healthcare system. He supports the President, he's a conservative, and he supports inclusion in the Republican Party," said Alex Walker, communications manager for the 100-person organization focused on LGBT rights.
Walker said the group's eight-person executive board voted on their primary endorsements and expect other endorsement before the primary. They surveyed federal, state and local candidates with questionnaires.
Here's an audio of the interview with Alex Walker Wednesday morning:
From the Log Cabin Republicans' website:
UPDATE x1: Illinois Family Action's David E. Smith said the endorsement of the Log Cabin Republicans was confusing. Dr. Tarter answered the group's survey saying he is “opposed” to transgender persons serving in the military and the Equality Act.
"I have no idea why Log Cabin likes him," Smith told Illinois Review. "I wonder what he told them?"
Smith sent a copy of the survey with Tarter's responses. The two questions Smith referred to show as below:
More to come …
Who cares if David Smith is “confused?” He is “confused” about a lot of things. But then who cares who the Republican nominee is? The party is so ineffective and pitiful that Durbin will win easily without doing a thing.
Tarter might be a fake on this issue or Log Cabin is doing this
to confuse voters for the man they probably favor privately, Mark Curran, who is going around now and saying he is a “moderate” on these issues. Let’s see how Tarter responds one way or the other.