Disgraced US Lawmaker Wins Re-Election

A homophobic lawmaker from West Virgina, who resigned over his comments, has been elected to the state's House of Representatives.

John Mandt Junior withdrew in October after writing in a Facebook group called "The Right Stuff" a tirade of slurs, it is alleged, including "silly f****ts, d**ks are for chicks!". His name however was still on the ballot, and he won the general election by just 71 votes over his competitor. He is said to have made speculations about the sexuality of other lawmakers, making a number of people uncomfortable.

When Mandt Junior resigned, he was almost entirely disowned by the Republicans - speaker Hanshaw was frank about his dislike, saying the "bigotry had no place in the state". His re-election will be a tense issue for Republican leaders, as the West Virginia statehouse returned an increased number of Republican representatives after November.

When approached for comment, Cody Thompson, an openly LGBT+ elected Democrat, said that there was a real sense of fear amongst his colleagues. "In general, I'm very proud of a lot of things we can work together on for the betterment of the people of West Virginia, but when it comes down to seeing these comments, its really hard to work with those who, they may smile to my face and talk to me, but behind closed doors or in conversations with others they use homophobic slurs".