GAY RIGHTS AND YAWNS: Sexual Orientation ‘Nonissue’ on Campaign Trail. “A gay candidate for Congress walks into a bar. No joke: Nothing happens. A record number of openly gay candidates are running for Congress this cycle, and the reaction, among a huge swath of voters, has been a collective yawn. . . . All across the country, serious contenders for Congress who are openly gay — Democratic and Republican — said their sexual identity plays almost no role in their election efforts.”