Illinois Republican Party Chairman Patrick Brady has resigned in the face of sustained opposition from conservatives over his support for gay marriage.
"I've been going at it hard for six years. I need to focus on my family, and obviously I had lost the support of the state Central Committee because of my position on gay marriage," Brady told CNN. He led the party for close to four years, during which a Republican was elected to the Senate seat formerly held by President Obama. That senator, Mark Kirk, recently endorsed gay marriage himself.
