Five LGBTQ Stories You Should Know About

1. VICTORY IN NEW YORK AND FLORIDA!

We have election results from our New York and Florida primaries!

In crowded and contentious New York U.S. House races, incumbent candidate Sean Patrick Maloney and Robert Zimmerman claimed victory. Robert will face anti-choice extremist and insurrectionist George Santos this fall in a bid to become the first out LGBTQ representative for Long Island in Congress.



Senior Director of Outreach and Engagement Marty Rouse was on the ground with Robert and some of our amazing New York candidates in the final stretch of the campaign.



In Florida, incumbent state Senator Shevrin Jones successfully fended off two challengers. Even more exciting? Eunic Ortiz and Janelle Perez are on track to become the first out LGBTQ women ever elected to the Florida State Senate! LGBTQ representation in the Florida state Senate now stands to triple if all three win their races this November. Adam Gentle also claimed victory in his primary for the Florida state House!



We are deeply saddened to share that U.S. Rep. Mondaire Jones was unsuccessful in his bid to represent NY-10. We know that Mondaire will continue to serve and advocate for his community, regardless of political titles. Read our full statement here.

2. THE LATEST ENDORSEMENTS

It’s the end of the month and you know what that means: we’ve announced a new list of endorsed candidates! Meet our 46 new endorsements here.

Celia Israel, running for Mayor of Austin, Texas, Ally Layman, running for the West Virginia House of Delegates, Mary Moriarty, running for Hennepin County Attorney, and Omar Torres, running for San Jose City Council, were all elevated to Spotlight status.

3. OUT FOR AMERICA RELEASED: RECORD HIGH OF LGBTQ ELECTEDS

LGBTQ Victory Institute released its 2022 Out for America Report, the only national census of out LGBTQ elected officials in the United States. With at least 1,043 out LGBTQ elected officials currently serving, there are more out LGBTQ people in office than ever before in U.S. history – and they are significantly more diverse in terms of race and ethnicity, gender identity and sexual orientation. Read more in The Hill here! 

4. SPOTLIGHT ON RHODE ISLAND

Here’s an upcoming race to watch: Victory Fund endorsed candidate Lenny Cioe vs. Rhode Island state Senate President Dominick Ruggerio. Ruggerio is a longtime incumbent that still believes being anti-choice and voting against marriage equality is the way to win – and he’s refusing to show up for debates.

But Lenny, a nurse who worked throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and a community advocate, has Ruggerio on the ropes. Learn more about Lenny’s campaign and how he’s preparing for his September 13th primary here!

5. ANTI-LGBTQ MISINFORMATION SPREADING

 

This horrific message, posted by Spotlight candidate Leigh Finke, is unfortunately common for LGBTQ candidates on the campaign trail. On top of having to deal with homophobic or transphobic opponents, LGBTQ candidates and LGBTQ people routinely receive hate online.

According to a new report from HRC, anti-LGBTQ rhetoric rose more than 400% online after the passage of “Don’t Say Gay” in Florida. And some of that rhetoric is being used to mobilize voters and form new anti-LGBTQ dark money PACs. Groups like “Moms for Liberty”, who use so-called parental rights as their rallying cry, are vocally anti-LGBTQ and are training candidates to “stop woke indoctrination”.

Another group, the incorrectly named “Citizens for Sanity”, has spread misinformation online about the COVID-19 pandemic, the January 6th insurrection and other conspiracy theories. As their latest stunt, they’ve started running attack ads about trans people playing sports. They plan to spend millions before the midterm elections.

Looking Ahead: Final August Primaries!

There are still a few primaries left with LGBTQ candidates on the ballot this August! Click on each state below to see LGBTQ candidates that need your support…

Guam: August 27, with Game Changer candidate Joshua Tenorio

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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