The following comes from a November 7 Washington Post story.

Supporters of gay marriage succeeded Tuesday night not just on ballot referenda but in state legislatures. Maine and Maryland voted to legalize same-sex marriage, Washington state gay marriage advocates are confident their referendum will pass, and voters in Minnesota rejected a constitutional amendment banning the practice (though it is still illegal in the state). But on top of those victories come some other significant gains that could lead to new legislation in 2013.

An Iowa judge running for reelection was targeted over his ruling in favor of gay marriage, but he kept his seat. Democrats held onto the Iowa Senate, blocking Republicans who hoped to pass a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

Democrats also regained control of the state legislature in Minnesota. With both chambers and the governorship, they will likely repeal the state’s gay marriage ban — exactly what conservatives hoped to prevent with the failed constitutional amendment.

Colorado will have gay leaders in charge of both the House and the Senate in 2013, after winning the lower chamber Tuesday. Republicans defeated a civil unions bill in the state Senate this year; Democrats will have the power to pass it next year.

Democrats say they have taken the state Senate in New York, where the National Organization for Marriage had targeted lawmakers who voted in gay marriage last year. (We may not know for sure who won here until later this week.) For Republicans who backed gay marriage in the state and lost conservative support, it was a mixed bag.

And, of course, Wisconsin elected the country’s first openly gay U.S. senator, Tammy Baldwin.

To read original story, click here.

November 7 brought this email from Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage.

Obviously last night did not go the way that we had hoped, prayed and worked so hard to accomplish. Our endorsed candidate for president, Mitt Romney, came close but did not cross the finish line. We are very disappointed in losing four tough election battles on marriage by narrow margins. Even though marriage significantly out-performed the GOP ticket in each of these very liberal, very Democratic states, we also came up just short of the finish line.

But make no mistake: we are disappointed, but we are not defeated! We are fighting for a true and just cause—God’s institution of marriage. This is a social compact that is not only ordained by the Almighty, it has served society very well. It’s a cause worth fighting and with your support we will continue to do just that.

We knew long ago that we faced a difficult political landscape with the four marriage battles occurring in four of the deepest-blue states in America. As our opponents built a huge financial advantage, the odds became even steeper. We ran strong campaigns and nearly prevailed in a very difficult environment, significantly out-performing the GOP ticket in every state.

Despite the fact that NOM was able to contribute a record amount to the campaigns (over $5.5 million), we were still heavily outspent, by a margin of at least four-to-one. We were fighting the entirety of the political establishment in most of the states, including sitting governors in three of the states who campaigned heavily for gay marriage.