Openly gay former Marine Neil Rafferty won the Democratic run-off for the state House seat in District 54 in Alabama this week. The seat was vacated by vacated by Patricia Todd, Alabama’s first openly gay legislator.
AL.com reports: “According to unofficial results, Rafferty received 2,531 votes, or 67.12 percent with 100 percent of the vote reporting. His competitor Jacqueline Gray Miller, an environmentalist and marketer, received 1,240 votes, or 32.88 percent. Rafferty hasn’t won the seat, though. Joseph Baker has entered the state House race as an Independent and will face Rafferty in the November general election. Baker is the founder of I Believe in Birmingham. Rafferty works as the director of research and development at Birmingham AIDS Outreach.”