On Monday night, hours before the polls started opening in the New Hampshire primary, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) walked through the Puritan Backroom diner in Manchester, seeking votes. Instead, he got some pretty awkward conversation about homosexuality, The New York Times' Michael Barbaro reports. First, Rubio placed his hand on the shoulder of Timothy Kierstead, 50, seated with his mother and husband. "Why do you want to put me back in the closet?" Kierstead asked. Rubio said he didn't, but that he believes "marriage is between one man and one woman." Rubio patted Kierstead's shoulder, told him, "I respect your view," and walked away. "Typical politician," Kierstead replied loudly. "Walk away."
Elsewhere in the diner, Rubio was asked about former fellow GOP presidential candidate Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) by a 92-year-old woman. "He's a bachelor, right?" the woman asked Rubio, who replied, "He is." The woman followed up: "Is he gay?" Rubio chuckled, Barbaro recounts, then answered "No."
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