May 20, 2013 8:58AM # Virginia Republican Candidates Not Joining 21st Century By [David Boaz](https://www.cato.org/people/david-boaz) --- SHARE Last week I [reported](https://www.cato.org/blog/republicans-slowly-catch-21st-century) that 40 percent of Virginia Republicans — and 56 percent of independents — now support gay marriage. But on Saturday the Virginia GOP nominated three statewide candidates whose views on homosexuality and marriage equality range from [unwavering opposition](http://rightdc.com/attacks-on-federal-government-headline-va-attorney-general-debate/) to [bigoted](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/29/AR2009102904197.html) to [insane](http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/jackson-gays-lesbians-very-sick-people-psychologically-mentally-emotionally). Gubernatorial nominee Ken Cuccinelli [came out swinging](http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/va-politics/virginia-gop-picks-staunch-conservatives-as-statewide-candidates/2013/05/18/138040b4-bef7-11e2-89c9-3be8095fe767_story.html?hpid=z3) against the “extremist” label in his convention acceptance speech: > “When did it become extreme to protect children from predators and human traffickers?” Cuccinelli asked. “When did it become extreme to guard our Constitution from overreach? When did it become extreme to secure the freedom of the wrongly convicted? And when did it become extreme to ask government to spend a little less so our economy can grow?” Like Gov. Bob McDonnell four years ago, Cuccinelli will try to [focus on jobs and the economy](http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/may/18/cuccinelli-accepts-gubernatorial-nomination-richmo/) in his race against big-government crony capitalist Terry McAuliffe. But there’s a reason that a report by the Republican National Committee found that [voters see the GOP](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/gop-autopsy-report-voters-find-scary-narrow-minded-article-1.1291647) as “scary,” “narrow minded,” and “out of touch” — and the Virginia Republican ticket is part of that reason. ##### Related Tags [Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).