Hawaii’s Governor Neil Abercrombie is claiming he lost his re-election bid in the state’s Democratic primary due to crossover Republican voters trying to punish him because of his administration’s decision to support and pass same-sex marriage in the state.
Hawaii has an open primary system, which allows voters who identify with one party to vote in the primary of another party. The Governor claims that conservative religious leaders saw his primary challenge Senator David Ige as easier to defeat in the general election. Although Ige supported the legislation in the special session called by Abercrombie, the biggest concern by religious conservatives seemed to be the haste with which the Governor insisted on getting marriage equality passed in the state.
According to the Associated Press, Abercrombie told a group of reporters in his office regardless of the consequences of his actions, he does not regret calling the special session or moving to pass the legislation.
There’s no way I could live with myself if I thought I was diminishing another human being’s ability to reach their full capacity.
Image via AP.
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