PageOneQ is the first news outlet to confirm with former Senator Mike Gravel's (D-Alaska) campaign that he will attend the HRC/LOGO presidential forum next month. Speaking moments after he stepped off a plane, campaign spokesman Alex Colvin said "the Senator is thrilled and he will accept the invitation."

Human Rights Campaign and LOGO officials today reversed a previous decision to exclude the long-shot presidential contender from a Democratic candidate's forum on LGBT issues. Senator Gravel was invited "after enthusiastic community response," according to an HRC press release.

"This invitation is a direct result of our supporters' actions and would not have happened without the online blogosphere community and my supporters," Senator Gravel said in a statement made to PageOneQ. "I extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone who made this happen," he added.

"This did not come from the campaign," spokesman Colvin told PageOneQ. "It came from the bloggers, from members of the Human Rights Campaign, and supporters of Senator Gravel's campaign who took the initiative to voice their discontent with the decision to exclude Senator Gravel."

Earlier in the week HRC confirmed that Gravel was not invited because he had not raised more than $100,000 for his campaign, a criterion set by the debate sponsors. Some prominent LGBT bloggers publicly questioned the decision to exclude Gravel, who supports marriage equality and has been a vocal critic of the anti-gay policies of the current administration. Those bloggers included both Lane Hudson and Sara Whitman at Huffington Post, Pam Spaulding of Pam's House Blend, and the writers at gay culture site Queerty, who first raised the issue of Gravel's exclusion. "Clinton, Obama and all the front runners better fasten their seatbelts. A new form of political commentary is leaving adolescence with all the swagger of a twenty year old, Whitman told PageOneQ. Whitman, a frequent poster at Huffington Post also blogs at Suburban Lesbian Mom. Additional bloggers who rote about the exclusion were Michael Crawford at Bloggernista and Chris Crain at Citizen Crain.

The Democratic presidential candidates event will air on LOGO on August 9. Moderators will include HRC President Joe Solomonese and Melissa Etheridge. Confirmed candidates so far are Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd, John Edwards, Dennis Kucinich, and Barack Obama. Top Republican candidates did not respond to HRC inquiries relating to a similar event for GOP contenders.