A minor controversy erupted in Maine during election time, as the Republican GOP accused Colleen Lachowicz, Democratic Senate candidate, of being a *gasp* gamer!

Their take? Lachowicz had a disturbing alter ego in the secret and seedy world of online gaming. She’s an Orc, for goodness sake! They set up a website and sent out mailers and a press release to out her terrible secret.

What was most interesting to me about this story was the fact that this news didn’t seem to phase voters. Lachowicz won by a large margin of votes. According to her, gamers came to her defense because, “Hey, we game too. Are we evil?”

Oh, and how awesome is she? When she won, she posted the Final Fantasy IV Victory fanfare! Oh, and Blizzard sent her a free copy of Mists of Panderia signed by the development team.

I think this speaks to the generation currently of voting age who have mostly been raised in a gaming culture. Words with Friends and Angry Birds are no World of Warcraft, but they are still games, and games that a ton of people are playing. Consoles like the Wii are staples in homes with small children.

Casual gamers might not see a problem with someone being a gamer, and tons of young voters are casual and mobile gamers. It also highlights how the Republican party is falling behind the times. As this election showed, young and minority voters are here to stay, and that party will need to accept that a move backwards to a more old-school, conservative society is not likely at this point. Gaming and social media are here to stay, and may no longer be the Elekk in the room.

On an awesome note, my favorite quote from a supporter of hers was: “My heartfelt congratulations, Santiaga. I hope (and I really believe) that you will perform as good in your new office as you have in your duties as a Rogue of the Horde.” – Victor Börjesson.

Gosh, I love our community, lol.

What would you think if one of your elected officials turned out to be a gamer?