Republican Senate candidate Mark Kirk has publicly denied being gay in response to attacks from a conservative challenger.
"No, it's not true," Rep. Kirk (R-Ill.) said at the Union League Club of Chicago on Thursday.
Andy Martin, a conservative dirty trickster running for the same Illinois Senate seat as Kirk, released an ad on local radio in which he pushed a "solid rumor" that Kirk "is a homosexual."
"I helped expose many of Barack Obama's lies in 2008," the ad goes. "Today, I am fighting for the facts about Mark Kirk. Illinois Republican leader Jack Roeser says there is a 'solid rumor that Kirk is a homosexual.' Roeser suggests that Kirk is part of a Republican Party homosexual club. Lake County Illinois Republican leader Ray True says Kirk has surrounded himself with homosexuals." In another ad, Martin called Kirk a "de facto pedophile."
Martin is well-known for pushing rumors that President Obama is a Muslim during the 2008 campaign.
Maybe Kirk's denial will satisfy Fox News contributor Sandy Rios, who went on a rant against Kirk Tuesday on Townhall.com. "American voters have a right to know if candidates are gay," she wrote, criticizing both Kirk and the press for ignoring the rumors. "So, where is the reporting? Where are the cameras? The gleaning of records? The follow up on accusations?"