Former G.O.P. Leader Says He Is Gay

Former G.O.P. Leader Says He Is Gay
By MICHAEL LUO
Copyright by The New York Times
Published: August 25, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/26/us/politics/26mehlman.html?th&emc=th


Ken Mehlman, President George W. Bush’s campaign manager in 2004 and a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, has revealed that he is gay and is working to advance the cause of same-sex marriage.

He confided his sexual orientation to family and friends in the last few months, he said in an interview Wednesday. He said it was a realization that he had come to over time. “At least for me, it wasn’t like there was a light-bulb moment,” said Mr. Mehlman, who is now a partner and head of global public affairs for Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, a private equity firm. “The reality is, it’s taken me 43 years to come to terms with this part of my life.”

The news was reported Wednesday by Marc Ambinder, a blogger for The Atlantic. There had been speculation about his sexuality, but Mr. Mehlman had in the past denied that he was gay.

For the last few months, Mr. Mehlman has been quietly working as a strategist and fund-raiser for the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which supports a legal challenge to Proposition 8, the California ballot measure that banned same-sex marriage.

Mr. Mehlman was in Mr. Bush’s inner circle in both presidential campaigns and ran his campaign in 2004, when the party courted Christian conservatives who oppose same-sex marriage. But Mr. Mehlman, in his work as chairman of the Republican National Committee and as head of Mr. Bush’s campaign, tended to personally avoid social issues.

He was a leading figure in the Bush White House in pushing for the party to try to appeal to black and Hispanic voters.

“I and others worked very hard to expand the party to communities that had previously not been as amenable to the Republican message,” Mr. Mehlman said. “Obviously, I look back and wish I was in the place I am today and been able to do that with the gay community.”

Mr. Mehlman’s announcement makes him apparently the most prominent Republican official to come out. Ed Gillespie, another former Republican chairman and a friend of Mr. Mehlman, said Mr. Mehlman revealed his sexual orientation to him several weeks ago. But Mr. Gillespie said it did not change his personal opposition to same-sex marriage.

“I think most Republicans believe as I do that marriage is between one man and one woman,” he said, “and will continue to believe that.”