Presidential candidates Sarah Gonzales and Cesar Cisneros clashed womens rights.
  • Hank Stephenson
  • Presidential candidates Sarah Gonzales and Cesar Cisneros clashed over women’s rights.

Revelations that Mitt Romney’s Arizona committee co-chairman was involved in a clandestine gay romance threw Saturday’s presidential debate into disarray, as White House hopefuls argued—in often graphic terms—the social acceptability of same-sex relationships.

The debate, which featured nine of the 23 candidates that will appear on Arizona ballots, was the first of three televised debates to take place in the Grand Canyon State prior to the Feb. 28 presidential preference election. For the first question, debate organizers raised the subject of Republican Congressional candidate and Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu—a Tea Party favorite deeply involved in Romney’s statewide campaign—who came out as gay during a press conference earlier in the day. Days earlier, the Phoenix New Times reported allegations that Babeu had threatened to have an ex-boyfriend deported over rumors he was spreading on the internet.

Nine of the lesser-known presidential candidates on the Arizona ballot met Saturday in the first of a series of debates in Arizona this week. The dark-horse candidates will meet again for a key debate tonight on the public-access station, while four other Republican candidates—former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, former House speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Congressman Ron Paul—will meet on Wednesday night in a CNN debate in Mesa.

Since the dark-horse candidates were not invited to Wednesday’s debate, tonight marks the last best chance for them to capture the attention of the state’s voters, who now appear to be focused on the major candidates in race. Two polls released last week showed that between 38 and 39 percent of GOP voters were supporting Mitt Romney, while 31 percent were supporting the surging Rick Santorum.

But a Rasmussen poll showed that 3 percent of the voter prefer another candidates and 5 percent of the voters were undecided, giving an opportunity to the dark-horse candidates to break through on Election Day.

Tonight’s debate airs from 7 to 8 p.m. on Cox Cable Channel 99 and Comcast Channel 74, as well as streaming live at Access Tucson’s website.

More photos from last night’s debate after the jump.

The lesser-known presidential candidates gather for the first of three Arizona debates this week
  • Hank Stephenson
  • The lesser-known presidential candidates gather for the first of three Arizona debates this week
Republican presidential canddiates Al Dick Perry and Charles Skelley
  • Hank Stephenson
  • Republican presidential candidates Al “Dick” Perry and Charles Skelley
Republican presidential candidate Kip Dean
Presidential candidates Simon Bollander and Cesar Cisneros clash over whther its appropriate to discsuss gay sex at a Republican debate.
  • Hank Stephenson
  • Presidential candidates Simon Bollander and Cesar Cisneros clash over whether it’s appropriate to discuss gay sex at a Republican debate.
Moderator Dave Maass of Project White House

This article appears in Feb 16-22, 2012.

Getting hassled by The Man Mild-mannered reporter

8 replies on “Babeu Outing Front and Center in First of Three AZ Presidential Debates. All Eyes on Tonight’s Debate As Candidates Seek Breakthrough”

  1. Why is this still an issue. Kolbe was a good congressman and he was gay. Of all the reasons to not want Babeu around, the fact that he’s gay shouldn’t even be on the list.

  4. Gay Republicans and Black Republicans hate themselves. Why else would they support a political party that actively works to deny them their civil rights?

  7. Nice strawman, folks. nobody has a problem with Babeu’s sexual preferences (with the exception of a certain segment of his own party)- it’s the hypocrisy stupid. When you are not just a rank and file member, but rather an active participant and candidate in a party that preaches intolerance towards gays- when you have attempted to build a reputation as a strong anti illegal immigrant tough guy while sleeping with another man who is an illegal alien- THAT makes you a hypocrite and a fraud. Babeu’s camp would love to run with the lie that this is a case of the left being intolerant of his sexuality, as the GOP are the masters at playing the victim, but the real problem with this situation is the abuse of power, as well as the hypocrisy.

  8. Thanks for letting me know about your debate in advance. (Sarcasm) I might have flown in, but I’m not welcome to be on your stage and with my giant sense of words, world orders and word hors d’oeuvres the gang would have been over shadowed every buddy. Well I am very busy working on my U.S. Supreme Court brief.

    http://michaelslevinson.com

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