John,

What an election night.

And it’s not quite over yet. As of Thursday morning, LGBTQ Victory Fund is still tracking key races in Oregon (including Jamie McLeod-Skinner for the U.S. House), Arizona (where Kris Mayes leads for Attorney General) and California (where Will Rollins holds a slim lead over anti-LGBTQ Congressional incumbent Ken Calvert in Palm Springs). We hope to share more good news – and more details about the historic rainbow wave we’re tracking – very soon.

But here’s what we do know. We went into this election night wary that anti-LGBTQ attacks could impact our candidates. The national forecast did not look bright – and we prepared for the worst.

But we have so much to be proud of today. Voters across the country – who have been barraged by anti-choice, anti-trans and anti-equality messaging – rejected this rhetoric at the ballot box. They knew that not only LGBTQ equality and Roe were on the ballot, but democracy was as well. They stepped up to preserve equality, in all forms.

Make no mistake, we saw a rainbow wave in 2022. More than 350 LGBTQ candidates have already declared victory, the most in any election year in U.S. history, and there are more to come. In the U.S. Congress and in state legislatures, we will have more LGBTQ representation than ever before. Many of these candidates made the right to choose and LGBTQ rights the cornerstones of their campaigns. That isn’t just a rejection of hatred – it’s a testament to perseverance.

After two years of brutal legislative attacks and being used as a culture war punching bag, trans and non-binary people can celebrate historic victories:

New Hampshire elected James Roesener to the state House, where he made history as the first out trans man elected to a state legislature in the entire country.
In Montana, Zooey Zephyr – who stepped up to run after an anti-trans bill passed in the state – and SJ Howell became the first out trans person and first out non-binary person elected to the body, respectively.
In Minnesota, Leigh Finke became the first out trans person elected to the state House and one of 11 total LGBTQ candidates to win a seat in the legislature.

And LGBTQ candidates who ran to preserve abortion overwhelmingly won:

In Michigan, incumbent Attorney General Dana Nessel made her positions on election interference and the right to choose clear – voters reelected her handily.
In the U.S. House, incumbents Sharice Davids, Angie Craig and Chris Pappas ran against anti-choice election deniers – and won. They will return to Congress in the fall – and ensure the fight for equality continues, no matter who holds the majority.

Another big takeaway? LGBTQ candidates are now holding some of the highest executive offices in the states.

Maura Healey and Tina Kotek won their gubernatorial races in Massachusetts and Oregon, becoming the first out lesbians elected in U.S. history.
Jared Polis handily won his reelection campaign as Governor of Colorado.
In Connecticut, Erick Russell shattered a lavender ceiling as the first Black out LGBTQ person elected statewide in U.S. history.
And not only did Becca Balint become the first out LGBTQ person and first woman elected to the U.S. Congress from Vermont, but Mike Pieciak secured a key win as Vermont state Treasurer.

The victories on Election Night were only possible thanks to you. It is because of your support that we endorsed more candidates than ever before and provided more than 700 hours of direct candidate support and consulting. Our staff was on-the-ground in 21 states for more than 40 candidates and places hundreds of media stories that provided key visibility for our candidates.

The victories exceeded expectations, but there were some disappointing losses. I spent election night with Janelle Perez in Florida, who ran a fantastic campaign for state legislature, but ultimately could not overcome anti-LGBTQ attacks and mailers. Yet these losses remind us that our opponents are still on the offensive. As our hardworking candidates in Florida and New York suffered hard losses, I was reminded that coordinated hate-based campaigns can pay off. And that there is more work to do.

In the coming days we’ll have more exact numbers, demographic breakdowns and more wins to share. But for now, thank you for standing with us this year. We could not have shattered these lavender ceilings without you.

Talk soon,

Mayor Annise Parker
President & CEO, LGBTQ Victory Fund

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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. 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, and so many more (meet all of our current candidates here)! We’ve shattered rainbow ceilings in all 50 states and broken election records. You can power our work and the next Rainbow Wave with a donation today!

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