A very gay November.

While Patricia Todd, Al McAffrey, and Kathy Webb are all important "firsts" in their state legislatures, they are not the only ones who have essentially won their seats by winning their primaries. After winning the August primary in her heavily Democratic district, Jolie Justus is all but assured to become Missouri's first openly lesbian state senator this November, joining Jeanette Mott Oxford, a lesbian incumbent Missouri house member, who also won her primary.

It's shaping up to be a banner year for gay, lesbian, and gay-friendly straight candidates, many of whom could tip the balance of power and prevent proposed antigay legislation from passing in their states. If you would like to learn more about state races, visit VictoryFund.org and HRC.org.

CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION

On the national front there are longtime gay and lesbian incumbent candidates, first-timers vying to join the gay congressional contingent, and a couple of races between straight candidates that you may want to know about:

* Barney Frank of Massachusetts is a shoo-in to beat write-in Republican candidate Chuck Morse for the fourth congressional district seat he has held since 1980. Frank, who came out in 1987, has been a strong advocate for gays and lesbians.

* Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, the first person in Congress to run and win as an openly gay or lesbian candidate in her initial race, is running against Republican businessman David Magnum to keep the seat she has held for eight years.

* Peter Hankwitz, "the only openly gay male Republican running for Congress in this election," is trying to unseat Democratic incumbent Brad Sherman in California's 27th district.

* John Rinaldi, a former U.S. Navy chaplain and a gay San Diego businessman, is trying to unseat powerful Republican congressman Duncan Hunter in California's 52nd district.

* In a race that has been closely watched by gay rights activists, Michele Bachmann, a notoriously antigay Republican state senator from Minnesota and author of a failed proposal to ban same-sex marriage, is running against gay-friendly Democratic nominee Patty Wetterling for Minnesota's sixth congressional district seat. At press time the race was a toss-up.

* In Ohio's first congressional district, Democrat John Cranley, a Cincinnati city council member who helped pass a measure to protect gays from discrimination, is running a tight race against antigay Republican incumbent Steve Chabot.

GUBERNATORIAL

They may not be gay, but several gubernatorial candidates this year have made some very big promises when it comes to gay rights:

* Phil Angelides, Democratic candidate for governor of California, has said he would sign a same-sex marriage bill vetoed last year by incumbent Arnold Schwarzenegger.

* Eliot Spitzer, Democratic candidate for governor of New York, has said he would support legislation to provide marriage equality should he beat incumbent George Pataki.

* Deval Patrick, Democratic candidate for governor of Massachusetts, has vowed to defend the state's groundbreaking same-sex marriage law should he beat his Republican opponent, Kerry Healey, who supports a proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

BALLOT INITIATIVES

The November 2004 election saw the passage of 11 state ballot measures constitutionally banning same-sex marriage and, in some cases, civil unions, in addition to two passed earlier that year. This November eight more states will vote on similar bans. Passage is considered certain in Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Tennessee. But gay rights leaders believe their side is at least competitive in Arizona, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Colorado. In addition to considering a marriage ban, Colorado voters will decide whether to give gay couples the right to form domestic partnerships, providing some of the state-level rights and protections afforded to married couples.--John Caldwell