GOP candidate backs gay marriage
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Washington (CNN) -- The gay Oregon man who helped overturn the state's decade-old ban on same-sex marriage is featured in a campaign ad for a Republican Senate candidate -- and he now finds himself on the receiving end of some criticism from LGBT activists.
Ben West and his husband, Paul Rummell, became high-profile figures in Oregon's gay rights community this year when they challenged the state's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage and won.
Now West is backing Monica Wehby, the Republican nominee and same-sex marriage supporter who's challenging Sen. Jeff Merkley, a Democratic incumbent with a long record of fighting for LGBT rights.
It wasn't too big of a surprise that Wehby is unveiling her support for same-sex marriage.
"This is Oregon. This is not Texas," Republican strategist Ford O'Connell said, referring to the state's liberal tendencies. "I don't see a political risk."
It was, however, a big step for West and his husband to lend their names to Wehby's campaign.
While many of West's friends and acquaintances have been respectful and even happy with his decision, he said, some have been "shocked." His Facebook page shows a sampling of the disagreements. Some simply can't fathom electing a Republican, while others say they have a hard time buying Wehby's position.
"Where was she earlier this year when we were 'fighting the fight'?" one person wrote, referring to the legal challenge against the state's law. "But now that it's over and she doesn't want to be on the 'wrong side of history', she is supportive, or says that she is."
Still, others are dismayed that West would not support Merkley, a senator that one person described as "a point of pride for Oregon."