Friends – More bills targeting the LGBTQ community have been introduced by Republicans in the past six months than at any point in U.S. history. Extreme Republicans have advanced nearly 500 bills across the nation and they have no intention of slowing down.
June officially marks Pride month, a time to celebrate, support, elevate the voices of, and advocate on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community: And they need us with them more than ever before.
That’s why we wanted to share with you the stories of four of our incredible Democratic scientists who identify as LGBTQ+ and are running in four of the most competitive Congressional and state legislative races in the nation.Re-electing these LGBTQ+ scientists is one of the best ways we can continue to defend and restore LGBTQ+ rights. Can you chip in $6 so we can re-elect these LGBTQ+ champions before our important FEC deadline at the end of the month.
Tammy Baldwin (WI-Sen)– Tammy Baldwin, who has a background in mathematics, made history as the first LGBTQ woman ever elected to both the House and the Senate in U.S. history. She then went on to co-found the first-ever LGBTQ Equality Caucus in Congress.
Tammy’s name has become synonymous with the fight for LGBTQ rights in Congress. Last year, Tammy Baldwin led the successful passage of the Respect for Marriage Act, a bill that enshrines protections for interracial and same-sex marriages at the federal level. As a Representative, she fought for the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, a law that forced millions of LGBTQ service members to live in the closet.
Republicans won Wisconsin’s Senate race last November by 1% and her race is expected to be decided by the most razor-thin margins. She’ll need our help to pull off another win in this perennial battleground state.
Eric Sorensen (IL-17) – Eric Sorensen is a widely respected meteorologist who has been the go-to weatherman for his area for more than two decades.
At the beginning of his career, he was forced to leave his job after his employer discovered he was gay and therefore in violation of his contract. Since then, Eric has made it a priority in his life to advocate on behalf of and fight for vulnerable and marginalized communities. So at a time when the GOP is working to strip away our right to vote, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, Eric decided to run for office for the first time.
Illinois’ 17th Congressional District is already considered by election experts to be a toss-up that will be decided by razor-thin margins. Defending Eric and this seat is crucial to taking back the House in 2024.
Erin Zwiener (TX HD-45) – Erin Zwiener is a lifelong conservationist, three-time Jeopardy winner, K-12 educator, natural resources expert, and is the state representative for Texas House District 45.
She founded and chairs the Texas House Caucus on Climate, Environment, and Energy Industry and has been described as a “potential future leader of the Texas House Democrats” for innovative and effective leadership.
Erin also is a founding member of the State House LGBTQ+ Caucus.
Erin only won re-election in 2020 by 1% of the vote – where just over 1,000 votes out of 113,558 cast decided this battleground race. At a time when GOP Gov. Greg Abbott and the Far-Right Texas GOP need a check on their extremism more than ever, we need Erin in the Texas House to continue the good fight.
Brianna Titone (CO HD-27) – Brianna Titone is a geologist, former volunteer firefighter (and voted junior Firefighter of the year for outstanding effort!), who became the
state’s FIRST ever transgender lawmaker when she became the representative for Colorado House District 27 in a nail-bitingly close election in 2018.
Brianna only won re-election in 2020 by 3% – fewer than 2,000 votes – over her extremist Republican opponent.
In 2018, the previous midterm cycle, she won by less than 1%. In hopes of flipping control of the chamber in 2022, Republicans made unseating Biranna a top priority of theirs and already declared her for a top target in 2024.
Imani Barnes (GA HD-86) Imani Barnes is a professional biomedical research scientist for the past 20+ years, a public health PhD candidate, and proud member of the LGBTQ community.
Imani felt compelled to run for office after seeing the lack of representatives for LGBTQ people of color in her local government. Her first campaign prioritized inclusion and advocated for using science and research to deliver quantifiable results for her constituents.
In Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp signed legislation barring transgender youth from playing sports, a ban on gender affirming care for minors, and one of the most extreme anti-abortion bills in the country.
Now more than ever, it’s essential to elect pro-choice public health experts like Imani to fight back.
Dr. Karla Drenner (GA HD-85) Dr. Karla Drenner is an academic and environmentalist with four degrees from four different universities who made history
as the first ever openly gay member of the Georgia Assembly.
In her tenure in the legislature, Karla has sponsored more than 300 pieces of legislation with 50 signed into law.
Her professional and personal experiences could not be more valuable at a time when Republicans in Georgia are waging an all-out war on reproductive, LGBTQ+, and voting rights. Leaders like Karla are holding the line and she needs our help to elect more Georgia Democrats so we can break the GOP hold at the state level.
With Republicans waging a war on our right to vote, a woman’s right to choose, and pushing forward with a historic number of anti-LGBTQ+ bills, we need more LGBTQ+ leaders in office at ALL levels of government. Donate now to help us elect pro-choice, pro-science champions like Tammy, Eric, Erin, Brianna, Imani, and Karla >>
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Let’s celebrate Pride this year by electing a wave of tried-and-true LGBTQ+ leaders and scientists to office.
Thank you,
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