With gas prices soaring over $3 dollars per gallon, the bungling of Hurricane Katrina, scandal plaguing top Republican players and a costly war with a death toll of over 2,000 young Americans and no end in sight, Dubya’s approval rating has bottomed out at 32 percent. American voters have myriad reasons to boot the GOP out of several key seats up for grabs during this mid-year election and give control of Congress back to the Democrats.

With Randy “Duke” Cunningham’s seat open and his party’s reputation marred from the surrounding scandal, San Diego County has an opportunity to finally capture a Democratic House majority after years of it being in Republican control.

After Cunningham’s resignation for taking roughly $2.4 million in bribes, constituents of the typically conservative district voted overwhelmingly for school board trustee and Democratic candidate Francine Busby in this month’s special election, and this is good news for the GLBT community.

Busby opposes a constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage and is a supporter of civil unions. She supports full sex education in schools to promote abstinence, while educating children on safe-sex, including age-appropriate education teaching tolerance for all sexualities and genders. She will advocate for increased funding for HIV/AIDS research and supports a women’s right to choose. Busby has received the support of state Senator Christine Kehoe, City Councilmember Toni Atkins, San Diego Democratic Party Chair Jess Durfee and the San Diego Democratic Club, among many others.

With the likelihood the 50th will go to Busby, Republican’s have placed significant energy and resources in capturing the 51st. While incumbent Bob Filner, a longtime supporter to the GLBT community, has gone relatively unchallenged over his years in office, his opponent, Assemblymember Juan Vargas, does pose a threat to our ally’s stronghold over the district. Not voting in favor of the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act and supporting the Boys Scouts of America’s preferential land lease in Balboa Park, Vargas’ record on our issues contrasts sharply with Filner’s 20-plus years of GLBT community support. For those of you who have been around for awhile, you may remember Filner as the lone public official to stand with us from his days on the San Diego school board to his years as a City Council member and throughout his seven consecutive terms as a Congress member representing an overwhelmingly religious conservative district. Filner has been a constant, fighting every battle for equality going back to the day him and his father road with MLK in the ’60s.

With rumor and innuendo linking Duncan Hunter to the Cunningham scandal, the 52nd District, once thought un-winnable, may be vulnerable this election cycle. Or so hopes John Rinaldi, the openly gay Democratic frontrunner to replace Hunter. The businessperson, war veteran and minister is the embodiment of his campaign slogan: “Fiscally Conservative, Socially Progressive, Morally Grounded,” and perhaps the first GLBT Democratic candidate with enough crossover appeal to capture the middle and edge out the competition in this traditionally conservative district. Rinaldi has received endorsements from Chula Vista Mayor Steve Padilla, state Assemblymember Lori Saldaña, state Senator Kehoe, Councilmember Atkins and dozens of other organizations.

Recently under fire for her reluctance to support the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, HR 1059 (which would repeal the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and allow gay, lesbian and bisexual service members to serve openly), many GLBT voters were withholding their support until Davis came out in support of it. After carefully examining HR 1059, Davis recently agreed to sponsor the bill, reaffirming her commitment to the GLBT community. While it took Davis longer then we would have liked for her to sign on to HR 1059, she has been a strong ally of our community and can truly be counted on as a staunch supporter of equal rights for all. One of Davis’ strengths is her ability to reach across the isle and appeal to Republicans as a balanced, thoughtful and fair public servant. Susan Davis deserves our strong support.

The upcoming June 6 primary election features several other key races. Look for further endorsement editorials in the coming weeks, including our endorsement tear sheet scheduled to run the week immediately proceeding Tuesday’s Election Day.