According to The Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder, Ken Mehlman—former chairman of the Republican National Committee and the former campaign manager for George W. Bush’s 2004 re-election bid—has told his family and colleagues that he is gay.

Ambinder quoted Mehlman as saying, “It’s taken me 43 years to get comfortable with this part of my life. Everybody has their own path to travel, their own journey, and for me, over the past few months, I’ve told my family, friends, former colleagues, and current colleagues, and they’ve been wonderful and supportive. The process has been something that’s made me a happier and better person. It’s something I wish I had done years ago.”

He reached the decision to come out in part because he would like to play a greater role as an advocate for same-sex marriage, said Mehlman, who helmed the RNC from 2005 to 2007.

He added that earlier this year, he participated in a fundraiser for the American Foundation for Equal Rights, an organization that has fought the Proposition 8 ballot initiative banning same-sex marriage in California. An appeals court ruled earlier this month that the ban will stay in place until December, overruling a federal judge’s decision that the ban was unconstitutional.

(Thanks to The Washington Post and Wikipedia)