Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu defeated four other Republicans in his bid to be the GOP nominee for the First Congressional District in Arizona Aug. 30. He’ll face Democrat Tom O’Halleran in the general election.
Babeu secured more than 31 percent of the votes, compared to his closest challenger— Gary Kiehne with 23 percent.
Babeu was attacked by one of his opponents for the “baggage” he would hand to a Democratic opponent in the general election. He was forced to publicly acknowledge being gay and drop a congressional bid in 2012 after pictures surfaced of him in his underwear that he had posted on a dating website and allegations that he threatened a former lover.
Babeu called his victory “historic” and said it showed that while Republicans are often portrayed as intolerant, they were willing to look past his sexual orientation.
“I want to be judged on my merit, on my performance and my contributions to my community and my nation,” he said.
