It didn’t take long for the campaign trail backlash to the California’s Supreme Court’s decision Thursday to strike down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage.

In the first of what is sure to be many campaign ads on the subject from now until November, Alabama state Rep. Jay Love (R) references the California court’s decision in a new commercial that is scheduled to go up today in the Montgomery and Dothan-based 2nd district.

In the ad, which features a Dothan Eagle headline about the court case, Love calls gay marriage a part of the liberal Democratic agenda in Washington that he will fight against.

“Jay Love is running for Congress to defend our values,” the ad states. “Jay Love will stand up to the liberals and fight for what’s right. He’ll defend the unborn, traditional marriage and get the economy moving. … Republican Jay Love, just the kind of Christian conservative change Congress really needs right now.”

Love, who was a successful restaurant owner before he won election to the Alabama House in 2002, is running in a crowded Republican primary in the southeast Alabama seat of retiring Rep. Terry Everett (R).

His top GOP challenger appears to be state Sen. Harri Anne Smith, but he also is battling TV station executive David Woods and oral surgeon Craig Schmidtke, both whom have raised significant cash for their campaigns.

The winner of the GOP primary in June likely will face Democrat Bobby Bright, the mayor of Montgomery, in the general election. Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee leaders are keen on Bright, calling him the type of conservative Democrat who can be competitive in Southeast Alabama.

—John McArdle