GOP Pols Subject to Attack Ads for Gay Marriage Support

The three Republican state representatives who voted to overturn Illinois' ban on same-sex marriage last year are now the targets of political attack ads by conservative anti-gay marriage groups. This comes ahead of Tuesday's primary elections.

Some of the ads were created by Illinois Family Action and go after Downers Grove incumbent state Rep. Ron Sandack and Ed Sullivan Jr., who is running for reelection in Mundelein. The ads criticize their decision to vote for a bill that legalizes same-sex marriage in Illinois. The measure was signed into law last fall and goes into effect in June. Tom Cross, who is running for state treasurer, was the only other Republican to back gay marriage in the state.

The ad attacking Sandack came in the way of mailer and reads: "You can kiss the GOP goodbye with officials who vote like Democrats." The text is next to an image of two men kissing, the Chicago Tribune reports.

There is another anti-Sandack mailer, that shows Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel in a leotard with the message, "Now we know where Ron Sandack learned how to dance," according to the Chicago-Sun Times. Talk show host Dan Proft's Liberty Principles PAC reportedly created this ad and is spending $13,500 on the ads, the Associated Press notes.

Illinois Family First, another conservative political action committee, campaigned against Sandack and Sullivan via robo-calls and raising money.

In an interview with Chicago's ABC-affiliate station WLS-TV, Sandack said:

"I'm trying to expand our party. I'm trying to win hearts and minds by being inclusive. And I think some folks don't like that."

He later added: "The mail has been ugly, it's been innuendo-ridden and it's really unfortunate."