State Senator Dennis Hollingsworth (R-Temecula), a strong proponent of Proposition 8 on the November 2008 ballot, maneuvered his way into the leadership of the Republican caucus after state Senator Dave Cogdill (R-Fresno) was ousted for his support of last week's budget deal.

"Sadly the California Republicans in the Senate elevated an anti-equality person to a leadership position," said Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California. "Moves like this will undoubtedly result in their remaining the minority party in our state. We are confident we will pass pro-equality legislation and regret that it will likely be mostly on party lines."

Hollingsworth, who became minority leader in the midst of a marathon budget session in the Capitol, said he was "humbled" by his colleagues' action.

"I am humbled and honored to have been chosen by my caucus to serve as their leader," he said in a statement February 17.

One Senate insider called Cogdill's ouster "a coup," explaining to the Bay Area Reporter that the GOP caucus had left the floor of the Senate during the impasse to meet in a private room upstairs.

"A short time later, some of the more moderate members came down, disgusted with what was happening," the source explained.

Gay rights advocates are unsure how the leadership change will affect legislation.

"I think it's worth noting that despite the leadership change, [Abel] Moldonado, [Roy] Ashburn, and Cogdill still voted for the budget, so I don't know how effective that change was for them," said Equality California lobbyist Alice Kessler, referring to Republican senators who voted for last week's budget.

"I don't think this will effect our efforts," Kessler added. "Typically on LGBT issues things fall on party lines. By and large [the state Legislature] is pretty polarized. I think at the end of the day the votes will be the same."

Len Lanzi, president of the California Log Cabin Republicans, said Hollingsworth's new leadership position is nothing to fear.

"It doesn't mean anything as it relates to me or to gay Californians because there's nothing that he can do at this point," Lanzi said. "He can vote no all he wants. The fact is we're a minority party in this state."

Lanzi agreed with Kessler that "only the budget and tax increases" require a two-thirds vote in the Senate, hence, those items need Republican support. Hollingsworth, he contends, "is irrelevant" to LGBT legislation.

But others weren't so sure.

The GOP caucus' choice of Hollingsworth "certainly is not a good sign for the future of LGBT relationships with Republicans in the state," said Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Kendell, who served with Kors on the No on Prop 8 executive committee, called the move "dispiriting, but very much par for the course here."

Christine Allen isn't so sure Hollingsworth's ascension won't affect the LGBT community in tangible ways.

"I think it may be very negative and damaging," said Allen, who added that she had recently chaperoned a group of gay and lesbian teens from nearby Nevada County to hear the Senate debate an LGBT bill. "These kids were asking me, 'Is he actually a senator?' They could not believe that he had been elected to a legislative position. The statements he made on the floor were so ignorant that it was embarrassing."

Pamela Brown, policy director for Marriage Equality USA, said Hollingsworth could use his new role to promote anti-LGBT views.

"I don't know that it'll change anything that we'll be doing," said Brown.

But Brown warned that Hollingsworth and other Prop 8 leaders continue to use their visibility to promote intolerance toward LGBT youth.

"We've been hearing back from our survey and the stories from children of same-sex couples have been particularly frightening. We're hearing kids were running up and down the hallways of schools yelling 'Yes on 8' as a different way now of saying 'faggot,'" said Brown, who said she believes Hollingsworth shares the responsibility for that.

A call to Hollingsworth's spokeswoman seeking comment was not returned.

LGBT activist Steve Hansen called Hollingsworth a "wholly owned subsidiary of the religious right. To get elected [in the Republican Party], you have to be in a direct bloodline to Jerry Falwell" in the Golden State.

Jerry Sloan, a longtime Sacramento gay activist who has spent more than three decades following capital politics, calls Hollingsworth "hardcore."

"The only power these Republicans have these days is blocking the budget, which they've done quite well. But Hollingsworth, he's the hardcore of the hardcore of the religious right," said Sloan.

"It's no surprise that [Howard] Ahmanson supports him. What people have to understand is for the most part, the majority of the Republican caucuses in both houses are conservative Christians from the religious right – and all of those religious right legislators have had the financial support of Ahmanson and his cohorts," explained Sloan.

Ahmanson is best known by LGBT activists for his early support of California's Prop 22 in 2000, contributing more than $130,000 to pass that initiative, which defined marriage in the state's family code as between a man and a woman. He also contributed $1,395,000 to support Prop 8 last year.

Hollingsworth is president of the Committee to Preserve Proposition 22 and was an official proponent of Prop 8.

Gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner, California's insurance commissioner and the only statewide elected Republican besides Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, has received campaign contributions from Ahmanson as well, for his previous campaign for insurance commissioner, according to records in the secretary of state's office.