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! 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!
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!
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, 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!
We endorsed 27 candidates for ANC seats – and many of our candidates won! Meet our ANC candidates and winners here.
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, David Ortiz and Leslie Herod are headed back to the legislature!
Political Director Cesar Toledo stopped by South Dakota and Nebraska to campaign with Kameron Nelson and John Fredrickson! John declared victory yesterday and Kameron won, restoring representation to the South Dakota legislature!
Reports from Political Manager Michelle Atwood’s stop in Minnesota: Mary Moriarty became first out LGBTQ woman to serve as Hennepin County Attorney! Davin Sokup was elected to Northfield City Council, making him the first out trans man elected in greater Minnesota! And we DOUBLED LGBTQ representation in the Minnesota state legislature this year. Erin Maye Quade and Clare Oumou Verbeten are the first Black women and first out LGBTQ women ever elected to the Minnesota State Senate! Leigh Finke made history as the first out transgender lawmaker in the Minnesota legislature!
Fresh off her campaign stops in Minnesota, Michelle headed to Florida to campaign with our Spotlight candidates for the state Senate. Though we suffered some heartbreaking losses, we know Janelle Perez, Eunic Ortiz and state Representative Carlos Guillermo Smith will not stop fighting for a better Florida.
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 and Kansas state Representative Heather Meyer a hand before heading Oregon!
Meanwhile, Sarah campaigned with Attorney General Dana Nessel and Michigan state Representative-elect Jason Hoskins in Michigan before getting out the vote in Oklahoma.
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 to help boost our candidates in the final days of October.
In North Carolina, Marty joined State Representative Deb Butler and Marcia Morgan for a “Trust Women” rally before checking with Raleigh City Councilor Jonathan Melton and Wake County Soil & Water Conservation Supervisor Jenna Wadsworth. Deb, Jenna and Jonathan all declared victory on election night!
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 and Venton Jones broke barriers when they both became the first Black out LGBTQ men elected to the legislature! 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.
Jessica González and Julie Johnson 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!
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., and Patty Contreras becoming one of the first out lesbian Latinas elected to the Arizona legislature! Oscar De Los Santos also became the first out LGBTQ member to represent Arizona House District 27!
All Eyes on These Unfinished Races
It’s not over until the last vote is counted!
Game Changer candidate Kris Mayes is neck and neck with Trump-backed extremist Abe Hamadeh in the race for Arizona Attorney General, who has aligned himself with white nationalists and wholeheartedly embraced the Big Lie. There might be some time before Kris’s race is called, but we’re rooting for her all the way! 
Spotlight candidate Celia Israel’s race for Austin’s mayor is heading to a runoff! Israel has given us some iconic moments this election, proudly declaring that she is a woman with opinions and that she’s here to shake up the status quo. 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!
Jennifer Williams, running for the Trenton (NJ) City Council, Genece Minshew, running for the Fernandina Beach (FL) City Commission, and Brian Alston-Carter, running for the Sumter (SC) School District Board of Trustees, will also head to runoffs. More details and election dates to come!
