I’ve seen this article from the Argus on the positions of Jeff Barth and Matt Varilek on marriage equality a few times on my newsfeed on Facebook, but I have to admit to being surprised that my progressive friends in South Dakota aren’t more upset about this.

Matt Varilek’s take on marriage equality is one that is becoming increasingly obsolete. More and more people (including Varilek’s opponent in the primary) have begun to see the cruelty of denying the rights and benefits of marriage to same-sex couples. Why on earth should we as feminists support this person? Honest question. I don’t get it. And while I’m at it, any feminist should recoil at a candidate who uses a phrase like “traditional marriage” to describe a model and an understanding of marriage and sexuality that is actually pretty modern.

The longer I remain an active observer of politics, the more tired I get of being told that I need to vote for the candidate who has a chance of winning, or the candidate who is the lesser of two evils, or the candidate who is a Democrat, or the candidate who is a better fundraiser, or whatever. This is about an issue of basic civil rights, and Matt Varilek is unapologetically on the wrong side of it. And we shouldn’t stand for that.

South Dakota progressives: you don’t owe Matt Varilek or the Democratic Party your vote. It’s quite the opposite, in fact – they need to earn your support. If Kristi Noem is re-elected in November, it will not be your fault. It will be because the Democrats chose a candidate who doesn’t share your values.