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John,
Obviously, this is not the email I want to be sending. I’m disappointed to report that Alex Morse lost his race for Congress tonight.
Alex faced an extremely tough fight from the start – it’s not easy to defeat a sitting Congressman who’s also the Chair of the Ways and Means Committee. But it became even more difficult when in the last moments of the campaign – literally as ballots hit voter mailboxes – a homophobic smear campaign against Alex began.
Victory Fund was the first to spring into action to defend Alex and correct the record. We helped clear Alex’s name from false allegations that sensationalized his sexuality – but unfortunately, the attacks had the intended effect. Many voters, misled by a homophobic smear campaign, cast their ballot with bad information in front of them. We don’t know if Alex would have won had the attacks not been launched, but it certainly influenced and upended the campaign.
It’s a sad fact that when some voters are bombarded with homophobic dog whistles about an LGBTQ candidate, it can stop them from supporting their campaign. No matter their policies or their plans or how hard they’ve worked for the people they want to serve.
We’re already seeing these tactics pop up again. Our Congressional candidate in Texas, Gina Ortiz Jones, is being attacked by the National Republican Congressional Committee for having a woman partner. Our candidates in Florida, Michigan and elsewhere are facing homophobic attacks. Our trans candidates are constantly under attack for running while out and proud. Tonight’s results were disappointing not only because Alex lost. His loss sets a bad precedent that these types of attacks will pay off – and so, bigots will try again. But we have many more chances to defeat these tactics in 2020.
Help Victory Fund defend our candidates just like we did for Alex. Will you make a donation to power our work today? [[link removed]]
Let’s ensure the precedent is not set. Let’s make these tactics backfire in 2020.
Thanks again for your support,
Sean Meloy
Pronouns: he|him|his
Senior Political Manager, LGBTQ Victory Fund
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Paid for by LGBTQ Victory Fund. Your contribution may be used in connection with federal, state and local elections and be subject to federal, state and local laws. Contributions to LGBTQ Victory Fund are not tax deductible. Victory Fund members do not have governance participation rights.
LGBTQ Victory Fund has helped thousands of openly LGBTQ candidates win elections up and down the ballot, from sea to shining sea since our founding in 1991. We believe representation is power so we elected U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin and Kyrsten Sinema, Governors Jared Polis and Kate Brown, all seven LGBTQ members of U.S. Congress and countless candidates for state and local government, including Virginia Delegate Danica Roem, Colorado state Representative Leslie Herod and Pennsylvania Assemblymember Brian Sims. And with an unprecedented number of LGBTQ people running for office in this year, we’ll need your support to make 2020 the next Rainbow Wave.
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