Five Stories You Should Know About

1. Pride & Primaries: Big Winners on June 7!

 

Fantastic news from our first set of Pride Primaries! So far, 68% of our candidates WON their primaries on Tuesday and will advance to the general election! There are only three races left to be called. Check out the full list of winners here!

Big winners of the night included State Rep. Liz Bennett, who’s running to be the first out LGBTQ woman to serve in the Iowa state Senate, Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, now running to be the first out LGBTQ immigrant elected to the U.S. House and Will Rollins, who’s taking on insurrectionist supporter and anti-LGBTQ incumbent Kevin Calvert to represent Palm Springs.

In Montana, both Zooey Zephyr and SJ Howell clinched their primaries. Both are running in deep blue districts, virtually ensuring Zooey will make history as the first out trans woman elected to the Montana state House and SJ will become the first out non-binary person to serve in the body.

Next up: LGBTQ candidates will be on the ballot in Maine, North Dakota and Nevada on June 14. Check out their campaigns here!

2. Dog Whistle Attacks Against Rashaun Kemp Roil Georgia House Race

Out LGBTQ candidate Rashaun Kemp is facing dog whistle attacks in his race for the Georgia House. Just weeks before the runoffs on April 21, thousands of voters received a misleading, anonymous text message highlighting Kemp’s husband and Pride Month. The attacks are reminiscent of those used by the NRCC to highlight LGBTQ candidate’s families and sexual orientation.

We demand Rashaun’s opponent, Rep. Roger Bruce, condemn the attack and pledge to fight against anti-trans bills in Georgia. Read our full release here.

3. Combating Insurrectionists on the Campaign Trail

As Americans watched the shocking revelations from the January 6th Committee hearings, LGBTQ candidates reaffirmed their commitments to protecting not only LGBTQ equality – but our very democracy.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel revealed that her main opponent, Matthew DePerno, met with Trump Administration officials the day of the Jan. 6th insurrection, leading to questions about his involvement. DePerno has long peddled election denial myths and joked about the meeting in a recent endorsement questionnaire – “Don’t tell the Feds!”

Out U.S. Congressman Chris Pappas finally has new redistricting lines – his district is basically unchanged. But while Rep. Pappas is addressing the issues important to New Hampshire, one of his opponents, Matt Mowers, announced endorsements from Rep. Kevin McCarthy and Rep. Steve Scalise. Both are currently under investigation for their questionable handling of the Jan. 6th insurrection – while Mowers has happily peddled Trump’s Big Election Lie.

In Maryland, anti-LGBTQ Rep. Andy Harris has championed Trump’s Big Lie, even going so far as to try and bring a gun onto the floor of the U.S. House after the insurrection. But Heather Mizeur is going to defeat him this November – and be the first out LGBTQ U.S. Representative from Maryland.

While these candidates are hard at work on the campaign trail, many more are needed. After the insurrection, the Proud Boys saw their membership triple. And when they’re not storming the Capitol, they’re running for office. The repercussions for our country are nearly too chilling to consider.

4. Maura Healey Clinches Mass Dem Endorsement

Congratulations are in order for Game Changer candidate Maura Healey, who officially earned the endorsement from the Massachusetts Democratic Party during the Mass Dems convention! Maura recently spoke with The Boston Globe about what the race for governor means to her – and how running as an out lesbian candidate has shaped her campaigns. Read the full article here.

5. Happy News: More People Identifying as Trans

Despite bigots' continued attempts to ban LGBTQ people from every public space – now including drag shows in Florida and Texas – more and more young people in the U.S. are identifying as transgender! The number of people between the ages of 13 and 25 who identify as trans has nearly doubled since the last report in 2017. There’s no better news to receive during Pride Month than to hear the LGBTQ community is growing. Read more on the report here!

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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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