Six Stories You Should Know About
1. Victory in Kentucky: Keturah Herron Makes LGBTQ History!
Last Tuesday, Keturah Herron (@KeturahHerron) won their special election and is now the first out LGBTQ person elected to the Kentucky state House!
After an extraordinary turnout from members of the Louisville community, Keturah clinched victory with nearly 95% of the vote. We were on the ground in Kentucky for GOTV last weekend and celebrated with them when they declared victory.
Keturah previously worked for the ACLU of Kentucky, where they worked to pass Breonna’s Law, which bans no-knock warrants in the city of Louisville. Now, they intend to leverage this experience and champion a variety of policies, including advancing voting rights, increasing the minimum wage, enacting criminal justice reform and improving access to education.
2. Victory Fund Endorses 80 More Candidates for 2022 Races
Victory Fund endorsed 80 more candidates for the 2022 campaign cycle this week! Read about our latest endorsements here.
This is the largest number of LGBTQ candidates Victory Fund has endorsed during one month in our 31-year history. Victory Fund has now endorsed 206 candidates for 2022 – and it’s only February! As more and more LGBTQ people step up to run for public office across the country, we predict we’ll continue to beat past endorsement milestones.
Robert Zimmerman (@ZimmermanforNY) was endorsed at the Game Changer level due to the historic nature of his race. Robert will be the first out LGBTQ member of the U.S. Congress from Long Island! Read up on Robert’s race here.
Ty Penserga (@TyPenserga), candidate for Mayor of Boynton Beach, FL, was elevated to be a Spotlight candidate! Ty will be the first out LGBTQ Mayor of Boynton Beach, and has faced anti-Asian and anti-LGBTQ attacks. But there is good news: Ty was just endorsed by The Palm Beach Post!
3. A Conversation with Brianna Titone on Trans Representation
In 2018, Brianna Titone (@BriannaForCO) became the first out transgender person to serve in the Colorado Legislature.
Earlier this year, U.S. Representative Ed Perlmutter announced that he will not run for reelection. The open seat presented an opportunity for Brianna to run for the U.S. Congress. However, in an interview with NBC, Brianna explains why she is waiting for another opportunity to break a lavender ceiling.
“It feels like a separate job of being that person who shows up and is inspirational and is outspoken on [trans rights] issues, because there's a short supply of people who have positions like mine to actually do it,” Brianna told NBC News.
As anti-equality legislation sweeps the states, we need more voices like Brianna's to stand against bigotry. Last year, transphobes in the Colorado state House attempted to filibuster a measure that would protect people from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Brianna spoke from the House floor, calling for basic respect for the trans community.
4. NEW BLOG: Anti-Equality Bills in U.S. States
Bigots in Florida and Texas earned national headlines after launching egregious attacks against the LGBTQ community.
In Florida, LGBTQ elected officials, allies and activists are mobilizing against the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill. According to Equality Florida, the sponsor of the bill once compared the LGBTQ community to “drunks” and “drug abusers.” The hated bill has passed the Florida House. Florida students are planning a walk-out.
When anti-trans legislation failed to pass in Texas, Governor Greg Abbot took matters into his own hands. His administration directed state agencies to investigate gender-affirming healthcare for trans kids as child abuse, going so far as to criminally penalize doctors, nurses, teachers and other manual reporters who do not out trans kids. Members of the public are also encouraged to report trans youth.
Get caught up on the anti-equality legislation making its way through state legislatures. Our latest blog post goes in depth into bills that restrict the healthcare services to transgender young people, expand religious exemption for professionals, and censor information taught in schools. This year, attacks like these are even more pronounced with anti-equality forces attempting to score points with their base during an election year.
5. Mayor Robert Garcia’s Congressional Race
The Los Angeles Times called Robert Garcia’s (@RobertGarcia) U.S. Congressional primary “among the state’s most contested intraparty battles.”
Both Robert and his opponent, Cristina Garcia, will both be in California’s jungle primary. The top two candidates who receive the most votes in a June 7 primary, regardless of party, will move onto the general election in November.
The California assemblywoman was called out on her use of anti-LGBTQ slurs, harassment directed towards staff, and inappropriate comments directed towards the AAPI community. Additionally, a former staff member alleges that Cristina groped them in 2014.
Robert is in his second term as mayor of Long Beach, during which he has been a leader in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, addressed homelessness in the city, and prioritized equality for members of the LGBTQ+ and immigrant communities.
When elected, Robert will be the first out LGBTQ immigrant elected to Congress!
6. PA Congressional Lines Finalized; Sean Meloy’s District A Toss Up
On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court approved a citizen drawn map to be the new Congressional districts in the state. In this map, Game Changer candidate Sean Meloy's (@MeloySM) district flips from a R+1 to a D+2 district, opening the door even more for Sean to be the first LGBTQ Congressional representative for Pennsylvania.
While his district is still very competitive, Sean is confident in his ability to clinch this toss up seat.
Sean tweeted:
