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LGBTQ+ Stories You Should Know About
Victory Fund's New Endorsements!
We’re announcing three new endorsements and their elections are coming up quick! In Colorado, we’ve endorsed Shontel Lewis for Denver City Council, District 8. The runoff election is a month away on June 6th. Kate Triggiano is an incumbent running for Red Bank City Council in New Jersey. The general election is next week on May 9th! If you’re a local New Jerseyan, make sure you have a plan to vote. Our final endorsement this week was Gabriela Saldaña-Lopez . She’s an incumbent running for the David Douglas School Board in Oregon. Election Day is Tuesday, May 16th.
Victory Fund endorses strong pro-equality and pro-choice candidates that will fight to make their communities a better place to live for ALL folks they represent. We’re proud to have endorsed Shontel, Kate, and Gabriela and can’t wait to see what they accomplish in office.
Pitch in today to help our candidates cross the finish line! [[link removed]]
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Knocking Doors in the Lone Star State: Out on the Texas Campaign Trail
Vice President of Outreach and Engagement Marty Rouse recently hit the campaign trail for GOTV and campaign events with our Texas candidates in Pasadena and Brownsville [[link removed]] . Our spotlight candidate Andy Garcia [[link removed]] will be the youngest and first out LGBTQ+ person to serve on the Pasadena ISD School Board and incumbent Jonathan Estrada [[link removed]] will continue to be an important LGBTQ+ voice on the Pasadena City Council!
Marty also joined Bryan Martinez [[link removed]] on the campaign trail – Victory’s first time campaigning in Brownsville, Texas. Bryan will be an important voice for equality on the Brownsville City Commission and is committed to supporting the Brownsville community.
Our three Texas candidates, Andy Garcia, Jonathan Estrada, and Bryan Martinez are fired up and ready for Election Day on Saturday, May 6th!
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Spotlight Candidate: Danica Roem!
Victory Fund spotlight candidate, Danica Roem [[link removed]] is running for Virginia state Senate this year and will be the first out trans state senator ever elected in the South! Danica has helped lead the charge in the state House to safeguard and strengthen LGBTQ+ rights, including a push to repeal conversion therapy and ban the state’s ‘gay panic’ defense.
“'We know what we’re up against in this race,' Roem told the Washington Blade on April 23 during an interview before the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund’s National Champagne Brunch. 'We know it is absolutely going to get personal, as well as its going to get on policy. We know that there’s going to be a lot at stake.'” [[link removed]]
Danica is standing by state Representative Rep. Zooey Zephyr, criticizing the Montana legislature for their treatment, saying that their actions are “an arbitrary and capricious abuse of power.” [[link removed]]
Rep. Zooey Zephyr Updates
A week after being censured, Representative Zephyr returned to the Montana House floor as the legislative session ended shortly after her move to sue. Zooey spent the week working from a bench in the hallway and attempted to file a lawsuit against the legislature for violating her rights 1st amendment rights [[link removed]] .
We know that one candidate, one elected, and one vote can be the difference between freedom and keeping extremists from passing anti-trans bills. Bigots recently attempted to silence, shut down, and ignore leaders like Zooey, Mauree Turner , and Megan Hunt – but we won’t let them.
"Florida Mayors Pledge Support for LGBTQ Community Amid Passage of Restrictive Bills.”
So far, eight mayors from Florida cities have pledged their support for the LGBTQ+ community after Ron DeSantis signed numerous anti-LGBTQ bills over the past year [[link removed]] . These Florida mayors are committed to representing ALL folks in the community, especially the LGBTQ+ community, after waves of bigotry.
Because of supporters like you, Victory Fund has seen our own recent wins in Florida. Victory Fund candidates Jane Castor [[link removed]] and Alan Clendenin [[link removed]] were recently elected the next Mayor of Tampa and a Tampa City Council, where they’ll resist DeSantis’s anti-LGBTQ political moves and fight for equality for everyone in Tampa.
“Trans Rights Are Human Rights.”
“Trans rights are human rights,” shouted local Iowa high school student. As the kids say, Gen Z won’t be slept on and they’re going to keep fighting back.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds recently signed bills banning trans youth from using school bathrooms and gender-affirming care, but when she showed up to a local high school to present the governor’s scholarships high schoolers protested her bigotry [[link removed]] . The high school students voiced their disapproval in various ways when received the scholarships, one by shouting “trans rights are human rights,” another by wearing a shirt with the same phrase, and another by wearing her pronouns and a pride flag proudly on her shirt.
“Nearly one in four U.S. teenagers now identify as non-heterosexual, according to a recent report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention." [[link removed]]
Gen Z is turning the tide on gender identity and is the most accepting generation so far (and they’re not afraid to let you know it). This generation is not only more accepting of the LGBTQ+ community but they are able to identify how they wish.
“In a 2019 poll, two-thirds of U.S. young adults said they had become increasingly supportive of transgender rights over the last five years.” [[link removed]]
This type of freedom is indicative of a more accepting society. Allowing kids the freedom of self-expression SAVES lives. That’s a fact.
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LGBTQ+ Victory Fund is the political arm of the LGBTQ+ community. Since our founding in 1991, we’ve supported and elected LGBTQ+ candidates like U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin, Governors Maura Healey, Tina Kotek and Jared Polis and thousands of LGBTQ+ candidates around the country. We’re proud to be the only national organization endorsing pro-equality and pro-choice LGBTQ+ candidates in the United States. We’ve shattered rainbow ceilings in all 50 states and broken election records. Meet our latest endorsements here! [[link removed]] We’ve shattered rainbow ceilings in all 50 states and broken election records. You can power our work and the next Rainbow Wave with a donation today! [[link removed]]

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