ST. PAUL, Minn. - Protesters have been rallying outside Target Corp. or its stores almost daily since the retailer angered gay-rights supporters and progressives by giving money to help a conservative Republican gubernatorial candidate in Minnesota.
The flap has revealed new implications of a recent Supreme Court ruling that appeared to benefit corporations by clearing the way for them to spend directly in elections. Companies taking sides in political campaigns risk alienating customers who back other candidates.
A national gay-rights group is negotiating with Target officials, demanding that the firm balance the scale by making comparable donations to benefit candidates the group favors. The liberal group MoveOn.org is pressing Target to formally renounce involvement in election campaigns.
Conservative organizations are likely to react harshly if Target makes significant concessions to the left-leaning groups.
Target's $150,000 donation to a business-oriented group supporting Republican Tom Emmer, an outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage, was one of the first big corporate contributions to become known after the U.S. Supreme Court this year threw out prohibitions on corporate spending in elections.
The Minneapolis-based chain has gone from defending the donation as a business decision to apologizing and saying it would carefully review its future giving. But the protests have continued.
Demonstrators gathered Thursday near Target's Minneapolis headquarters, and two Facebook groups focused on gay rights were organizing protests at Target stores. Immigrant-rights supporters have joined the protests, citing Emmer's tough stance on illegal immigration.
The company is in talks with the Human Rights Campaign, a national gay-rights organization that wants Target and electronics retailer Best Buy Co., which gave $100,000 to the same group backing Emmer, to match their donations with equal amounts to help gay-friendly candidates.
On the other side, conservatives have begun to rally to support Target, but in smaller numbers. A Facebook page urging "Boycott Target Until They Cease Funding Anti-Gay Politics" had more than 54,000 fans, while a page declaring "I will NOT Boycott Target for supporting a Conservative candidate" had a little more than 400 fans.
A Target spokeswoman said the company had nothing to add to chief executive Gregg Steinhafel's statement of apology last week. At Best Buy, based in Richfield Minn., a spokeswoman said the company was reviewing its process for political donations and intended the Minnesota contribution to focus "solely on jobs and an improved economy."
Emmer has said he viewed the Target giving as an exercise in free speech and wanted to keep his campaign focused on economic issues.
Target's and Best Buy's donations went to business-focused MN Forward, which has run ads supporting Emmer and his lower-taxes message. The group is staffed by former insiders from Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty's administration and has also backed a few Democrats.
MN Forward has continued to collect corporate money after the backlash against Target, bringing in $110,000 through Tuesday from businesses including Holiday Cos. gas stations and Graco Inc., a maker of pumps and fluid-handling equipment.