The Agenda: The Nefarious Plot to hold public office [[link removed]][link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]]
LGBTQ Stories You Should Know About
CELEBRATE WITH US: LGBTQ Victory Institute's International LGBTQ Leaders Conference
Join LGBTQ Victory Institute in Washington, D.C. November 30 - December 3 for the International LGBTQ Leaders Conference [[link removed]] ! In just under two weeks, LGBTQ Victory Institute's annual conference will bring over 600 LGBTQ elected officials, leaders and advocates from across the world together to strategize and plot the continued fight for LGBTQ equality. The conference includes four days of networking, professional development and more. Check out the agenda and speakers here! [[link removed]]
REGISTER TODAY! [[link removed]]
There will also be a special Elected Officials Summit on Thursday, Dec. 1 from 7:45am - 3:45pm featuring workshops and panels geared towards supporting elected officials throughout their journey in office. This is a valuable opportunity to build community and learn from fellow elected officials across the world. Click here to register! [[link removed]]
OUT ON THE TRAIL: LGBTQ VICTORY FUND'S WORK IN THE '22 MIDTERMS
Thanks to supporters like you, our Political and Outreach and Engagement teams were able to hit the road in October to spend GOTV with our candidates and get a close-up look at the fight for equality in the states. Here’s just some of the places they went…
On Our Home Turf: Recruiting and Training Future ANC Members
Early in October, LGBTQ Victory Fund began recruiting candidates to run for D.C.’s Advisory Neighborhood Commission seats. Only 10 of our 34 known out members were thinking about running again [[link removed]] , and we risked losing representation. So we got to work recruiting LGBTQ leaders in the District to run – and Vice President of Political Programs Sean Meloy and Political Director Cesar Toledo hosted a training in our office!
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We endorsed 27 candidates for ANC seats – and many of our candidates won! Meet our ANC candidates and winners here [[link removed]] .
Crisscrossing the Country for Equality
This October, our Political team was hard at work crisscrossing the country to help LGBTQ candidates up and down the ballot. When you’re fighting to stamp out bigotry, there’s no time to rest!
After hosting our ANC training in D.C., Vice President of Political Programs Sean Meloy campaigned in Colorado with some of our incumbent state house candidates. Brianna Titone [[link removed]] , David Ortiz [[link removed]] and Leslie Herod [[link removed]] are headed back to the legislature!
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Political Director Cesar Toledo stopped by South Dakota and Nebraska to campaign with Kameron Nelson and John Fredrickson! John declared victory yesterday [[link removed]] and Kameron won, restoring representation to the South Dakota legislature [[link removed]] !
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Reports from Political Manager Michelle Atwood’s stop in Minnesota: Mary Moriarty [[link removed]] became first out LGBTQ woman [[link removed]] to serve as Hennepin County Attorney [[link removed]] ! Davin Sokup [[link removed]] was elected to Northfield City Council , [[link removed]] making him the first out trans man elected in greater Minnesota! [[link removed]] And we DOUBLED LGBTQ representation [[link removed]] in the Minnesota state legislature this year. Erin Maye Quade [[link removed]] and Clare Oumou Verbeten [[link removed]] are the first Black women [[link removed]] and first out LGBTQ women [[link removed]] ever elected to the Minnesota State Senate! Leigh Finke [[link removed]] made history as the first out transgender lawmaker [[link removed]] in the Minnesota legislature! [[link removed]]
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Fresh off her campaign stops in Minnesota [[link removed]] , Michelle headed to Florida to campaign with our Spotlight candidates for the state Senate. Though we suffered some heartbreaking losses, we know Janelle Perez [[link removed]] , Eunic Ortiz [[link removed]] and state Representative Carlos Guillermo Smith [[link removed]] will not stop fighting for a better Florida.
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And last but certainly not least, our Political Associates Candace Silver and Sarah Green hit the trail in Kansas, Oregon, Michigan and Oklahoma, respectively. Candace lent U.S. Congresswoman Sharice Davids [[link removed]] and Kansas state Representative Heather Meyer [[link removed]] a hand before heading Oregon!
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Meanwhile, Sarah campaigned with Attorney General Dana Nessel [[link removed]] and Michigan state Representative-elect Jason Hoskins [[link removed]] in Michigan before getting out the vote in Oklahoma.
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North Carolina to Texas to Arizona!
Here at LGBTQ Victory Fund, we believe that every state is in play – and pro-equality candidates can win anywhere. Senior Director of Outreach and Engagement Marty Rouse hit the campaign trail to meet with candidates in states like North Carolina, Texas, Arizona and New York [[link removed]] to help boost our candidates in the final days of October.
In North Carolina, Marty joined State Representative Deb Butler [[link removed]] and Marcia Morgan for a “Trust Women” rally before checking with Raleigh City Councilor Jonathan Melton [[link removed]] and Wake County Soil & Water Conservation Supervisor Jenna Wadsworth [[link removed]] . Deb, Jenna and Jonathan all declared victory on election night!
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In Texas, everything is bigger – including the LGBTQ wins! Despite (or perhaps because of) the extremist legislation coming from bigots in the state house, LGBTQ people are stepping up to run. And they’re winning! Christian Manuel-Hayes [[link removed]] and Venton Jones [[link removed]] broke barriers when they both became the first Black out LGBTQ men elected to the legislature! [[link removed]] Jolanda Jones previously shattered a lavender ceiling when she became the first Black out LGBTQ person ever elected to the Texas legislature earlier this year [[link removed]] .
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Jessica González [[link removed]] and Julie Johnson [[link removed]] both held their ground in the Texas House of Representatives where they will continue to push back against bigoted legislation. Thank you to all our phenomenal incumbents in the Texas state legislature for their hard work [[link removed]] !
Arizona is a battleground state and has seen its share of anti-equality legislation. But our candidates (and the voters!) were ready to push back. They shattered their rainbow ceilings after Election Night with Lorena Austin becoming the first out gender non-conforming Chicanx person elected to a legislature in the U.S. [[link removed]] , and Patty Contreras becoming one of the first out lesbian Latinas elected to the Arizona legislature [[link removed]] ! Oscar De Los Santos also became the first out LGBTQ member to represent Arizona House District 27 [[link removed]] !
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It’s not over until the last vote is counted!
Game Changer candidate Kris Mayes is neck and neck [[link removed]] with Trump-backed extremist [[link removed]] Abe Hamadeh in the race for Arizona Attorney General, who has aligned himself with white nationalists [[link removed]] and wholeheartedly embraced the Big Lie [[link removed]] . There might be some time before Kris’s race is called, but we’re rooting for her all the way! [link removed] [[link removed]]
Spotlight candidate Celia Israel ’s race for Austin’s mayor is heading to a runoff! [[link removed]] Israel has given us some iconic moments this election, proudly declaring that she is a woman with opinions [[link removed]] and that she’s here to shake up the status quo. [[link removed]] We can wait to watch her take on this runoff and become the first out LGBTQ Mayor of Austin and the first Latina Mayor of a top-20 U.S. city! [[link removed]]
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Jennifer Williams [[link removed]] , running for the Trenton (NJ) City Council, Genece Minshew [[link removed]] , running for the Fernandina Beach (FL) City Commission, and Brian Alston-Carter [[link removed]] , running for the Sumter (SC) School District Board of Trustees, will also head to runoffs. More details and election dates to come!
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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 [[link removed]] )! 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 [[link removed]] !
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