"You've got the two Democrats trying to outmaneuver each other," said Eric Johnson, the openly gay chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton, whose district spans Broward and Palm Beach counties. "I think it's really refreshing and it says a lot about how the politics has changed that they're both going after the gay community."

The Democrats are proclaiming their support for issues important to gay and lesbian voters, such as ending the ban on same-sex couples adopting children. The candidates are visiting with gay political groups, and leaders of those groups are responding with endorsements and fundraising help. The candidates even put out press releases to their statewide media lists touting endorsements from gay and lesbian groups and leaders.

Earlier this summer, gubernatorial hopefuls Jim Davis and Rod Smith both made the rounds at a state Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Democratic Caucus gathering in Tallahassee. Before that, Davis and Smith both stopped at the annual Stonewall Ball in West Palm Beach.

Albetta said most statewide Democratic candidates no longer seem to fear repercussions from supporting issues important to gays and lesbians, such as domestic partnerships and adoption.

Fred Fejes, of Fort Lauderdale, a communications professor at Florida Atlantic University, said the change is not as seismic as some gay and lesbian political activists believe -- at least not yet.

"In some ways this is very comparable to the way many major politicians back in the 1950s dealt with the black vote," he said. "They had to say the right things but not alienate the white voters."

Fejes is writing Moral Panic and Gay Rights, a book due out in 2007, about the period in the 1970s when gays and lesbians emerged on the political scene.

Late last week the Democratic primary was still a race. A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday showed 43 percent of likely Democratic voters for Davis, 32 percent for Smith and a quarter undecided.

Laurie Watkins, of Oakland Park, a member of the Dolphin Democrats and South Florida deputy finance director for Smith's campaign, said the decisive votes in a close race could come from the gay and lesbian community.

Which is why, at the end of a 12-hour day of summer campaigning in South Florida, Davis pitched his candidacy at the last pre-primary gathering of the Dolphin Democratic Club in Fort Lauderdale.

He used the acronym "GLBT" in his remarks and promised to "end our shameful place in this nation" that prevents gay couples from adopting children.

"If you and your lifetime companion want to have the same rights and responsibilities as my wife and I have, I'll stand up for that, too," he said.

Tom Runyan said he liked the way Davis integrated issues important to gays into his overall speech. Now a Fort Lauderdale lawyer, Runyan lost a 1998 primary for state representative in Monroe County and was president of Key West's Lambda Democrats.

This is cache, read story here