Six LGBTQ Stories You Should Know About

1. Breaking News! Victory Fund Endorses 22 More LGBTQ Candidates!

Big news: we announced our latest slate of endorsements! Read up on our newest candidates here.

Both Jennie Armstrong and Andrew Gray have earned Spotlight status. When elected, Jennie and Andrew will both shatter the rainbow ceiling as the first out LGBTQ people elected in the Alaska State Legislature!

Previously endorsed candidates James Michael Bowers (Nebraska Legislature), John Fredrickson (Nebraska Legislature), Kameron Nelson (South Dakota state Legislature), Janelle Perez (Florida state Senate), Eunic Ortiz (Florida state Senate) and Brett Smiley (Providence, RI mayor) were also elevated to Spotlight status.

Victory Fund has now endorsed 336 LGBTQ candidates running for office this year!

2. A Record Number of Trans and Nonbinary People are Running for Office

In our recent memo detailing the demographic data of LGBTQ candidates on the campaign trail in 2022, we found some good news. Not only are a historic number of LGBTQ candidates running, but out trans and nonbinary candidates have broken the lavender ceiling as well! Our report found there are 55 our trans candidates, 20 out gender non-conforming candidates, 18 out nonbinary candidates and four Two Spirit candidates running for office.

Victory Fund set up interviews for Spotlight candidates Zooey Zephyr (Montana state House) and Leigh Finke (Minnesota state House) and Victory Fund-endorsed incumbent Mauree Turner (Oklahoma state House) with The Washington Post about their campaigns, noting they ran to fight against anti-trans legislation.

3. Victory in Charlotte, North Carolina!

 

Spotlight candidate LaWana Mayfield made history as the first out LGBTQ person elected citywide in Charlotte, North Carolina! Victory Fund-endorsed candidate Danté Anderson also made history as the first out LGBTQ member of City Council elected in her district!

Senior Director of Outreach and Engagement Marty Rouse campaigned with LaWana and Danté in Charlotte and hit the trail during the final days of their campaigns.

4. Daniel Hernández in Congress = Protecting LGBTQ Rights

 

Political Associate Candace Silver sat down with Game Changer candidate Daniel Hernández to discuss the future of LGBTQ protections in the United States and how to defend against an anti-democracy takeover. He is running for Arizona's 6th Congressional District, where Daniel served as an intern for former U.S. Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.

Daniel saved Giffords' life during the 2011 Tucson shooting, immediately providing first aid after she was shot. In Congress, he plans to address the ongoing gun violence crisis, protect the right to choose and expand upon LGBTQ rights. Click here to read more on Victory Fund's conversation with Daniel!

5. Jim Obergefell on the Future of Obergefell

LGBTQ Victory Fund connected Victory-Fund endorsed candidate Jim Obergefell with the Pennsylvania Capital Star to discuss his fear of what is next for same-sex marriage. To Jim, the Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe is a perfect example of what happens when people do not stay engaged after victories are accomplished.

The fear of losing marriage equality is what drove Jim to run for the Ohio state House in the first place since the potential loss is truly personal, with his name forever linked to the landmark Supreme Court case.

6. Mayor Parker Interview Alert!

President & CEO Annise Parker called into Julie Mason Mornings to talk about the historic number of LGBTQ candidates running for office this year. Mayor Parker stressed the importance of the right to privacy, uplifted the trans community and our trans candidates and explained the endorsement process and the steps Victory Fund takes to elevate our hundreds of LGBTQ candidates! Listen to the full conversation here!

Looking Ahead: August is FULL of Primary Elections!

We are looking forward to our LGBTQ candidate primary victories happening next month! Here are some dates and states to keep an eye out for (click on the state to see which of our endorsed candidates will be on the ballot):

August 2
Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Washington

August 4
Tennessee

August 9
Connecticut, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Vermont

August 13
Hawaii

August 16
Alaska, Wyoming

August 23
Florida, New York

August 27
Guam

Stay tuned for results from all these campaigns!

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 is the political arm of the LGBTQ community. Since our founding in 1991, we’ve supported and elected LGBTQ candidates like U.S. Senator 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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