LITTLE ROCK (AP) – The state Supreme Court’s rejection of Arkansas’ ban on gays and lesbians as foster parents could turn this year’s election campaign into a sequel to the same-sex marriage debate that shaped the 2004 election.

Two years ago, Arkansans overwhelmingly passed an amendment banning same-sex marriage.

Can the state Supreme Court’s ruling to throw out a ban on gays and lesbians serving as foster parents rally voters?

Republicans apparently think so.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Asa Hutchinson criticized the ruling and said he would support reviewing if any legislative action could be taken to reimpose the ban. Gunner DeLay, the Republican candidate for attorney general, within hours of the decision denounced the court, saying, “there is no substitute for what God and nature intended.”

Sen. Jim Holt, who is running for the state’s second highest spot, said the decision backs up his platform, which includes a call for a constitutional amendment barring gays and lesbians from adopting or becoming foster parents.

Art English, a political scientist at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, said the ban could mobilize conservative voters the same way the marriage amendment did in 2004.

With Republicans trying to gain ground with issues from immigration to property rights, the foster parent ban may have provided some new ammunition to the party, English said.

“I think it will put pressure on the Democrats to respond,” English said. “The complexion of these races have changed where you’re seeing a lot more of these social issues come up in ways they haven’t before.”

Democrats have been varied in their response to the ruling.

Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Mike Beebe responded to the ruling initially with a statement that didn’t say whether he supported a ban, before coming out in favor of a restriction on gays and lesbians as foster parents.

Beebe’s spokesperson said Beebe would support legislation reimposing the ban but only if it was well-researched and constitutional.

Bill Halter, the former Clinton administration official running as a Democrat for lieutenant governor, said he’s unsure if he thinks the ban should be reimposed and said he wants to study the ruling.

DeLay’s Democratic opponent, Rep. Dustin McDaniel, quickly pointed out that he voted last year for a proposal to ban cohabitating, unmarried couples from becoming foster parents. The measure, which passed the House and stalled in a Senate committee, effectively would have banned gay and lesbian people from becoming foster parents.

McDaniel said he still supports such a proposal and said he expects Republicans to try and use the court’s ruling to their advantage.