"It's reductionist," he says.

Gay is not all he is. But the word defined his first week on Capitol Hill. His presence in the Senate has irked conservatives and some loyal liberals. And while an attempt to challenge his residency has faded, the pique in the Democratic Party has not.

Sexual orientation probably will not matter; McCoy may end up getting along just fine with Republican senators. His bigger problem could be wooing members of his own party to win re-election in two years.

He succeeds former Salt Lake City Sen. Paula Julander, one of the beloved matriarchs of the Democratic Party. When she resigned for health reasons two weeks ago, he beat out Julander's husband for the job of replacing her. Some in the party think he jumped the line to take a prized Democratic seat ahead of House Minority Leader Ralph Becker, who reportedly plans to run for it in 2006, and Centro de la Familia's Rebecca Chavez-Houk, an up-and-coming party activist. McCoy has a lot to prove.

"He's going to have to spend the next two years earning that place," said Rep. Jackie Biskupski, a Salt Lake City Democrat. "He's going to have to show people that he should stay there."

Despite a job clerking for former Utah Supreme Court Justice Leonard Russon, his dogged leadership of the Don't Amend Alliance, quiet advocacy for Equality Utah and position on Salt Lake City's Civilian Review Board, McCoy is a relative unknown in Utah political circles. After just three years in the state, he belatedly decided to run for Julander's seat the night before the vote. He registered as a Republican to vote in the 2004 gubernatorial primary before quickly switching his party affiliation back to Democrat after the election. As a result, some have questioned his Democratic credentials.

But McCoy is determined to stay where he is, representing Salt Lake City's Avenues, Central City, Sugar House and Millcreek neighborhoods.

"This is extremely important," he said. "It fulfills a strong sense of service in me."

The son of a schoolteacher and a college administrator, 34-year-old McCoy grew up in Smithville, Mo., and Tulsa, Okla. On the side, his parents raised Morgan horses. Summers were spent driving to horse shows - he competed in the "pleasure driving" category, steering a buggy. And his older sister Jennifer competed in English riding. During the school year, he won trophy after trophy in speech and debate. He studied philosophy, political science and economics at a small liberal arts college, then international affairs at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

In 1992, he took a job with the U.S. House Agriculture Committee. Initially, he worked for a Republican congressman but stayed on through partisan congressional shifts. After a year working as legislative director for Iowa Republican Congressman Tom Latham, McCoy left Washington in 1998 for law school in New York.

He graduated in January 2001 and worked a year for a Wall Street law firm. Then Russon called and McCoy jumped. He and his partner, 32-year-old Mark Barr, a real estate broker and documentary filmmaker, moved to Utah. When Russon retired, McCoy stayed in Utah, taking a job at a Salt Lake City law firm. But he has gravitated toward politics - taking a leave to fight the marriage amendment and now juggling his job with a post in the Legislature.

McCoy almost couldn't help himself. He decided to run over the course of 24 hours on Feb. 4. "Others were getting in. It seemed to be turning into an open race. And I thought to myself: 'Why shouldn't I?' I thought I would be a good candidate," he says.

The decision to re-enter politics was almost subliminal. He surprised colleagues in the gay community as much as Democratic stalwarts and Republicans.

Utah's conservative Senate is adjusting. McCoy has mended fences with West Jordan Republican Sen. Chris Buttars, an opponent in the marriage amendment election fight. And he has gotten his first message from the Eagle Forum's Gayle Ruzicka - signed with a "hi" and a smiley face - urging him to "please vote yes" on the Patients Access Bill. Barr was invited to the Senate president's dinner and the first lady's "Spouses Lunch" and mistakenly listed in a legislative manual as McCoy's "spouse."

But McCoy does not want to be summed up by his sexual orientation. He picked up Julander's bill requiring Utah insurance companies with drug plans to cover women's birth control prescriptions - the so-called pill bill. And, as in the seven years before, the bill failed Friday, with Julander in the audience. McCoy plans to bring it back next year. He says education, health care, the environment and hate crimes legislation are equally important to him.

"Because of his sexual orientation, he has broken some barriers," said state Democratic Party Chairman Donald Dunn. "But I don't think he's going to be a single-issue person."

McCoy said he can't remember whether he was registered as a Republican in Washington. But he proudly touts his Democratic stripes now. He volunteered for U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson's 2002 campaign and donated money to Scott Matheson Jr.'s gubernatorial campaign. He says he voted in the Republican primary to "find the weakest candidate" to run against Matheson.

Eve Furse, a friend and shareholder at McCoy's firm, says his party affiliation is not inconsistent with his political views. She calls him a "classic moderate," motivated by a fundamental sense of fairness and a "Midwestern, salt-of-the-earth moderating force." She is not surprised he has thrown himself into the thick of things on Capitol Hill.

"Scott has always wanted to be involved in whatever was exciting and interesting. And the Legislature is pretty exciting and interesting," Furse said.

More so since he arrived.

Sen. Scott McCoy

Age: 34

Bedside table: My Life by Bill Clinton and a Benjamin Franklin biography.

Job: Attorney at Bendinger Crockett law firm.

Pet: German short-haired pointer "Parker," named after actress Parker Posey and writer Dorothy Parker.

Trophy: Reserve national junior champion in horse buggy "pleasure driving" (second place).

Geek factor: A hopeless fan of "Star Trek" and "Stargate SG-1." Has read every Harry Potter book.