A New York state Senate candidate may lose the support of the Republican Party after local leaders learned she was married to a woman.
Mike Long, New York Conservative Party Chairman, said the group would be reviewing her endorsement for a Senate seat in the Hudson Valley in light of her now-public same-sex marriage.
“I want to be fair to the candidate, but I assume she has a different point of view on gay marriage than the party does, and that would be a problem,” Long said in a statement to The Daily News.
Other GOP leaders chimed in their disapproval: “She’s married to a woman? Oh boy,” Rockland County Conservative Party Chairwoman Mary Loeffler said. “That puts a little crimp in it right now.”
Rockland County GOP Chairman Vincent Reda said Castaldi’s marriage is a “non-issue”, adding that “polls indicate the public isn’t interested in a person’s sexual orientation. She’s changed her registration to Republican and is totally acceptable.”
Republicans are seeking to maintain their 33-29 majority in the state, making Castaldi’s appointment all the more crucial for the GOP in New York.
