Speaker Boehner Backing Openly Gay Republican Candidates

After promising last year that he would support openly gay Republican candidates, Speaker John Boehner is following through by backing Carl DeMaio, the Hill reports.

Boehner is traveling to California this week to raise money for the openly gay DeMaio, who is a Republican candidate for California's 52nd congressional district in the November 2014 election.

The Ohio Republican is supporting DeMaio even though anti-gay conservative groups like the Family Research Council have called out Boehner's support for an out politician.

"I'm disappointed but not terribly surprised that some extreme far right groups would rather lose elections than win elections, and have been very destructive for so many years within the Republican Party," DeMaio told the Hill. "I'm glad so many people are finally realizing that and standing up to that, saying we may not agree on all issues, but we agree on the vast majority of issues."

Then Hill asked DeMaio if Boehner's support sends a political message, but he danced around the question, never mentioning the speaker by name.

"We welcome all support from wherever it comes from," he said before adding: "We're all coming together in a broad-based campaign not only to win a seat but send a national message that the Republican Party can be more inclusive and positive."

The conservative anti-gay groups, like the National Organization for Marriage, sent a letter last week, condemning Boehner along with National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Greg Walden and Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell for backing DeMaio, Richard Tisei, an openly gay Republican candidate in Massachusetts, and Senate hopeful Monica Wehby of Oregon, who back same-sex marriage.

"Carl DeMaio, Richard Tisei and Monica Wehby are antithetical to the Republican platform," the letter reads. "Mr. DeMaio supports and aggressively advocates for the redefinition of marriage, and welcomed the judicial activism of the federal courts which stripped the people of California of their votes in support of maintaining marriage as the union of one man and one woman."

After Boehner said last year that the GOP should support out Republican candidates, he donated the maximum $14,000 to both DeMaio and Tisei this cycle. The National Republican Congressional Committee also gave $2.3 million to help DeMaio in his campaign. It will also spend another $1 million to boost Tisei's campaign.

"Our decisions on the Republican nominees we support will not be based on race, gender or sexual orientation, but will be based on the strength of their candidacy and their ability to defeat Democrats," NRCC spokesman Ian Prior said.