IRELAND – Gay independent Sen. David Norris is ahead in the race to succeed Mary McAleese as the next president of Ireland, according to the latest Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll.
Fine Gael candidate Gay Mitchell is in second place, followed closely by Labour Party candidate Michael D Higgins.
According to the poll, Norris has 25 percent of the vote. But although he leads in The Irish Times poll, Norris has still not received the necessary support of four county councils or 20 Oireachtas members required to contest the election.
When asked by reporters if Ireland is ready for an openly gay president, Norris replied, “I don’t see myself as a gay president, I see myself as a president who happens to be gay.”
Norris was the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in Ireland.
