61 Years Lost

Once an Oklahoma rancher and oil man, Paul was also the first openly gay man to have run for U.S. Congress. It was 1996 when he first declared his sexual orientation openly at age 61 in the three-page letter announcing his candidacy, raising eyebrows in his home state and making headlines in The New York Times. Running as the first openly gay male candidate for a federal office was not the political disaster many expected it would be. Notably, Paul earned 96% of the black vote, a block never expected to support a gay candidate at the time. He lost the election narrowly, but his honesty opened minds and doors permanently. Sadly, despite his honesty, Paul has yet to have an intimate same-sex relationship.