I know Jared personally (from on-line work prior to his doing politics). He is a good guy, and to be honest, I think that he would be decent over all. BUT, the fact is, he stands no chance of being treated fairly by at least 40-45% of our population just due to his being gay. And to win over that other 10-15%? Nope. He is too far left. 

A big part of the reason why Noel is strong is because he IS true middle of the road and concerned about business. Basically, he will pay attention to the bottom line and focus on getting our state economically solid.  We need that more than anything. Esp. NOW. 
Trump is going to do worse than what W did to America.