LGBTQ+ Stories You Should Know About

Before Election Day, we sent you seven stories to watch. Here are the results...

QUESTION: Will America elect more LGBTQ+ candidates than in any other odd-number election year?

ANSWER: YES! Over 200 LGBTQ+ candidates won their campaigns (including over 110 Victory Fund endorsed candidates!) during the 2023 election cycle, beating the records made in both 2021 and 2019. It's officially a rainbow wave.

But we're still tracking races across the country - follow along with us here.

QUESTION: Will Danica Roem become the first out trans state senator ever elected in the South?

ANSWER: YES! State Senator-elect Danica Roem has made LGBTQ+ history once again, officially beating anti-trans bigot Bill Woolf. She is officially the first out trans person elected to a state senate in the South. We know that her election will not only benefit the people of Virginia, but also serve as an inspiration for countless future trans candidates.

QUESTION: Will LGBTQ+ candidates help decide a pro-equality majority in the Virginia state House?

ANSWER: YES! In addition to Danica's groundbreaking win, Laura Jane Cohen (District 15), Joshua Cole (District 65), Rozia Henson (District 19) and Adele McClure (District 2) all claimed seats in the Virginia Assembly. Incumbent candidates Kelly Convirs-Fowler (District 96), Marcia Price (District 85) and Mark Sickles (District 17) are headed back to the Assembly, while incumbent Adam Ebbin (District 30) was running for reelection to the state senate. All nine Victory Fund endorsed state legislative candidates WON their races, ensuring pro-equality majorities in both chambers!

QUESTION: Will New Jersey elect the first out LGBTQ+ woman to the state Assembly?

ANSWER: YES! Former County Prosecutor Luanne Peterpaul (District 11) previously served as Chair of the Board for Garden State Equality, as well as working to defend challenges to New Jersey’s state law prohibiting conversion therapy and played a significant role in bringing marriage equality to the state. She is now first out LGBTQ+ woman elected to the state Assembly!

QUESTION: Will Mississippi elect Fabian Nelson as the first out LGBTQ+ person to the state legislature?

ANSWER: YES! Before Tuesday, Mississippi was one of two states that had never elected an out LGBTQ+ state legislator. But that honorific is no more. Fabian Nelson defeated a write-in candidate and is now the first out LGBTQ+ person elected to the Mississippi state legislature!

QUESTION: Will Rue Landau will make history as the first out LGBTQ+ person elected to the Philadelphia City Council?

ANSWER: YES! She's done it: Rue Landau won her campaign, officially becoming the first out LGBTQ+ person elected to the Philly City Council. The City of Brotherly Love now has LGBTQ+ representation!

QUESTION: Will LGBTQ+ school board candidates win as anti-LGBTQ activists and politicians protest inclusion of trans students in schools?

ANSWER: YES! LGBTQ+ school board candidates racked up major wins across the country, sometimes even defeating anti-LGBTQ opponents. Amelia McMillan, running in York, Pennsylvania, became one of just 14 out gender non-conforming people serving in any position in the entire U.S. Sheena Barnes, who previously made history as the first out LGBTQ+ woman of color elected to a school board in Northwest Ohio, won her write-in campaign to the Toledo Board of Education. In Fairfax County, which has promoted pro-equality policies, Robyn Lady and Kyle McDaniel both declared victory! Incumbent Karl Frisch also retook his seat on the Fairfax County School Board.

After a year of brutal anti-LGBTQ legislation and seeing trans kids used as political footballs, these results are a clear sign of hope. Despite the shocking levels of bigotry, LGBTQ+ people ran in historic numbers – and won big on Election Night. Onward to 2024!