Feb. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Hillary Clinton cemented years of goodwill with gays in 2000, when she walked in New York's Pride Parade....Now some gay voters, who have been among Clinton's most stalwart supporters and helped her defeat Barack Obama in Democratic presidential primaries earlier this month, may be drifting toward the Illinois senator, according to political activists and campaign officials.
``Clinton probably is still a little bit ahead of Obama among leadership in the community,'' said Steve Elmendorf, a Clinton supporter and lobbyist with ties to the gay and lesbian communities. ...``Obama has presented more detailed position papers on gay and lesbian issues than Clinton,'' said David Mixner, 61, a writer and activist who helped longtime friend Bill Clinton win over the gay and lesbian vote during the 1992 presidential race and who supported both of Hillary Clinton's successful Senate races in New York. This time, Mixner is backing Obama. The Clintons have become ``a machine, and Obama's the young reformer,'' said Mixner...Musician Melissa Etheridge, who came out as a lesbian in 1993 at President Bill Clinton's Triangle Ball... said earlier this month that she is backing Obama...Hollywood mogul David Geffen, a one-time supporter of Bill Clinton, also is backing Obama....held a $1.3 million fundraiser for Obama last year.
While exit-poll data on gay and lesbian voters aren't available in many of the states Obama has won, he scored victories in gay neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. and Madison, Wisconsin. He also won San Francisco County and edged out Clinton in Hillcrest, the gay hub of San Diego.
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