Brian Brown: GOP Won Because Of NOM

“Our two most prominent efforts to influence Senate contests were in North Carolina and Arkansas. The NOM Victory Fund spent over $200,000 in these races on television ads, direct mail and grassroots outreach to mobilize marriage supporters. When our TV ad and mailer hit in North Carolina, Thom Tillis trailed Kay Hagan by 2-3 points. Within days, we helped bring the race into a tie, and then working along with NC Values Coalition (which co-sponsored the ads and with whom we worked to pass the state’s marriage amendment in 2012) we helped mobilize grassroots marriage supporters to get to the polls. In what many consider the biggest upset of the night, Thom Tillis defeated Kay Hagan by two points, and marriage helped make the difference.

“Arkansas was also a race where marriage made a difference. When our TV ad began airing, marriage champion Tom Cotton led incumbent Mark Pryor by 7 points. Cotton ended up winning by seventeen points! Clearly, our advertising and grassroots efforts in that state helped to boost his margin of victory. We were able to mount very strong grassroots efforts that helped make a difference in a number of other races. For example, we helped sponsor (along with FRC Action and others) a multi-state bus tour to energize marriage supporters who went to the polls to elect Joni Ernst to the Senate in Iowa and Ben Sasse in Nebraska, as well as turnout supporters to help Gov. Sam Brownback and Sen. Pat Roberts win reelection in Kansas.” – Hate group leader Brian Brown, writing for the Heritage Foundation’s blog, Daily Signal.