Five Stories You Should Know About

1. 75% of our candidates WON on Tuesday!

Tuesday was a big night with primary elections in Oregon, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Idaho, and Kentucky! 75% of our candidates secured their primary nominations or advanced to the general election.

Tina Kotek is now on track to become one of the first lesbian governors in U.S. history! She won 56% of the vote on Tuesday, far ahead of her closest competitor who had 34%. As governor, Tina will ensure Oregon remains a safe place for LGBTQ people. Read our full release!

Izzy Smith-Wade-El swept their primary for the Pennsylvania state House after winning about 70% of the vote! Izzy will be the first out non-binary member of the Pennsylvania state legislature. Up to and including Election Day, Victory Fund’s Senior Director of Political Programs Marty Rouse was on the ground helping campaign and get out the vote.



LaWana Mayfield won her primary for Charlotte City Council and is now on track to be the first out LGBTQ person ever elected citywide in Charlotte! Victory Fund’s Marty Rouse and Michelle Atwood helped canvass for LaWana ahead of the election. Michelle was also on the ground on Election Day to help get LaWana over the finish line. Read our full press release!

Victory Fund endorsed candidate Allison Scott also won her primary for the Asheville City Council. She’s one step closer to being the first out trans person elected in North Carolina!

And there’s one more race left to win: the ballots are still being counted in Game Changer candidate Jamie McLeod-Skinner's race for the U.S. Congress. But things are looking good for Jamie – she's been holding the lead since Election Night.

2. Venton Jones Hit by Homophobic Tirade

Earlier this week, Victory Fund condemned a homophobic attack against Venton Jones, a Victory Fund Spotlight Candidate for the Texas House. Venton’s opponent compared his HIV status to gambling and drug addiction and falsely claimed he was not transparent about his sexual orientation. Stonewall Democrats of Dallas quickly released a ballot warning against his opponent and called the tirade homophobic and transphobic.

Politicizing someone’s sexual orientation and HIV status is unacceptable, particularly from a person who wants to be a public official. Read our full statement.

And don’t forget: the Texas runoffs (and primaries for LGBTQ candidates in Alabama, Arkansas and Georgia) take place next Tuesday, May 24th! Read up on all our Texas candidates here.

3. Gayborhoods Hit Hard by Redistricting

Victory Fund’s Deputy Political Director Cesar Toledo sat down with Bloomberg to discuss the impact of redistricting on LGBTQ candidates and gayborhoods. Slicing and dicing an LGBTQ community can be the difference between electing an authentic champion for equality or a transphobic bigot. And click here to hear what U.S. Congresswoman Sharice Davids had to say about this week’s redistricting decision in Kansas.

Want to learn more? Check out our “We Belong Together” report about how to ensure LGBTQ people are protected during redistricting.

4. Game Changer Candidate Eric Sorenson Launches New Ad “Forecast”

Eric Sorenson – who would be the first out LGBTQ person elected to the U.S. Congress from Illinois – launched a new ad this week! The former meteorologist outlined why he is the right pick because of his deep community ties as well as his plan for tacking the climate crisis. Watch Eric at a recent NPR forum to get to know him better! And click here to watch “Forecast.”

 

5. Some Good News to End Your Week: What is Bringing Mayor Parker Joy Right Now

Victory Fund President & CEO Mayor Annise Parker recently spoke with Buzzfeed about what is bringing her joy right now. She was joined by over a dozen other LGBTQ leaders, from Miss Peppermint to our very own Kansas state Representative Stephanie Byers.

The day before my mother passed away a few weeks ago, my wife and I took in a stray kitten. My mother loved cats. They are never self-conscious or inhibited. They don’t view themselves as less than perfect or agonize over their imperfections. They don’t get depressed over a new gray hair. They never get too busy to enjoy the world around them. Life should be approached with joy. We named our kitten Blessing, as I know my mom had a hand in her coming into our lives.

Click here to read all the stories!

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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. Senators Tammy Baldwin, Governors Jared Polis and Kate Brown and all nine LGBTQ members of U.S. Congress. We've boosted out candidates running for state and local government, including California Senate Pro Tem Toni Atkins, Florida Senator Shevrin Jones, Virginia Delegate Danica Roem, Colorado state Representative Leslie Herod, Pennsylvania state Representative Brian Sims, Hawaii state Representative Adrian Tam, Oklahoma Representative Mauree Turner, and so many more (meet all of our current candidates here)! We’ve shattered rainbow ceilings in all 50 states and broken election year records. You can power our work and the next Rainbow Wave with a donation today!

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