Meanwhile, in Georgia ... Among the many openly gay and lesbian candidates running in state-level contests this year, these are some other notable names on the November ballot.

Ray Buckley

New Hampshire 

Buckley has served 18 years in the state's house of representatives. This year the Democrat is seeking to replace incumbent Ray Wieczorek on the state's five-member executive council, a powerful and currently all-Republican body.

Karla Drenner 

Georgia

Drenner, a Democrat, seeks election to the state assembly from a newly realigned 86th district. When first elected from the 57th district in 2000, she became the Deep South's first openly gay state-level official.

Ed Flanagan 

Vermont

After losing a 2000 bid for the U.S. Senate as its first openly gay major-party nominee to incumbent James Jeffords, Democrat Flanagan pledged to supporters that "the bulldog will return." This November he is vying for one of the six state senate seats in Vermont's Chittenden County.

Christine Kehoe

California

Having represented her native San Diego for two terms in the state assembly, Kehoe is now running for the district 39 state senate seat against Republican Larry Stirling, a self-described "Schwarzenegger-like" reformist.

John Laird

California

Having been elected to California's 27th state assembly district as one of the state's two openly gay assemblymen in 2002, Laird now faces a general election challenge from Republican John Barlich.

Mark Leno

California

Leno is seeking reelection to the state assembly from district 13, which he first won in 2002. In the past two years the Wisconsin native has introduced a successful bill to protect transgendered people from discrimination as well as a pending bill to legalize same-sex marriage in the state.

McKim Mitchell

New Hampshire

A third-term member of the state's house of representatives, Mitchell is running for the district 10 senate seat. His opponent, Republican incumbent Tom Eaton, is the state senate president.