By Chloe Sargeant
Of the 18 LGBTQIA+ Congressional candidates, 17 won at the 3 November midterms, in a wave of blue.
Let’s take a look at the history-making Senate first: the US has had a Senate since 1789, which means it took Americans 237 years to elect an openly gay man to it. New Hampshire’s Chris Pappas will serve alongside Wisconsin Democrat Tammy Baldwin, whose seat wasn’t up for election this year, but she became the first openly LGBTQIA+ person elected to the chamber in 2012.
Meet the 17 LGBTQIA+ candidates who won seats in the US Congress
Chris Pappas, New Hampshire, US Senate. The Democrat defeated former Republican senator John Sununu to keep New Hampshire’s open Senate seat in Democratic hands. Pappas campaigned on the cost of living, government accountability and LGBTQIA+ rights.
Sarah McBride, Delaware, US House. Delaware overwhelmingly reelected McBride, who was the first openly trans person ever elected to Congress, giving her a second term in the state’s only House seat. House Republicans went after her right to use the women’s bathrooms at the Capitol before she’d even cast a vote.
JoAnna Mendoza, Arizona, US House. The openly queer Marine veteran flipped Arizona’s 6th District, defeating Republican incumbent Juan Ciscomani. Mendoza served under “don’t ask, don’t tell”, the policy that barred gay, lesbian and bisexual people from serving openly in the US military. She’ll now represent a southern Arizona district in Congress.
Scott Wiener, California, US House. The openly gay state senator defeated fellow Democrat Connie Chan in San Francisco’s 11th District and will succeed former House speaker Nancy Pelosi. Wiener made LGBTQIA+ protections a part of his campaign, including support for the federal Equality Act.
Mark Takano, California, US House. Takano defeated Republican Steve Manos to keep his seat in California’s 39th District. A co-chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, he has made healthcare and veterans’ issues central to his work and is in line to chair the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee under the new Democratic majority.
Robert Garcia, California, US House. The former Long Beach mayor won another term in California’s 42nd District. As the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Garcia pushed for investigations into the Trump administration. The new majority puts him in line to chair the committee.
Marni von Wilpert, California, US House. The San Diego city councillor flipped California’s 48th District, defeating Republican Jim Desmond in the race to succeed retiring Republican congressman Darrell Issa. Von Wilpert campaigned on housing, reproductive freedom and LGBTQIA+ rights.
Eric Sorensen, Illinois, US House. Voters in Illinois’ 17th District gave the former TV meteorologist a third term. Sorensen focused on household costs, healthcare and services for rural communities in western Illinois.
J.D. Ford, Indiana, US House. Ford unseated Republican Victoria Spartz in Indiana’s 5th District, a seat Democrats hadn’t held since 1990. He will now be Indiana’s first openly gay member of Congress.
Sharice Davids, Kansas, US House. The lesbian Democrat and Ho-Chunk Nation citizen won a fifth term in Kansas’ 3rd District, defeating Republican Eric Jenkins and Libertarian Steve Hohe. Davids was one of the first two Native American women elected to the House and the first openly LGBTQIA+ person Kansas sent to Congress.
Jeremy Moss, Michigan, US House. Michigan’s first openly gay state senator is heading to Congress after defeating Republican Ethan Baker in the 11th District. Moss campaigned on lowering healthcare costs, protecting LGBTQIA+ rights and holding the Trump administration to account.
Ritchie Torres, New York, US House. Torres won a fourth term representing New York’s 15th District in the Bronx. He made history as the first openly gay Afro-Latino member of Congress and is now a co-chair of Equality PAC.
Cait Conley, New York, US House. Conley flipped New York’s 17th District, beating Republican incumbent Mike Lawler in the Hudson Valley. The Army veteran, who served six overseas deployments and worked on the National Security Council, campaigned on affordable housing, healthcare and the cost of living.
Becca Balint, Vermont, US House. Vermont returned Balint for a third term in its sole House seat, with the former teacher defeating Republican Gerald Malloy. Balint, the first openly LGBTQIA+ person to represent Vermont in Congress, made housing and mental healthcare part of her re-election pitch.
Emily Randall, Washington, US House. Randall defeated Republican Teresa Fox to retain Washington’s 6th District. The former state senator made history in 2024 as the first openly queer Latina elected to Congress and put affordable healthcare at the centre of her re-election campaign.
Mark Pocan, Wisconsin, US House. Pocan ran unopposed in Wisconsin’s 2nd District, which includes Madison. The longtime congressman and Congressional Equality Caucus co-chair has focused on workers’ rights, affordable healthcare and LGBTQIA+ equality.
Janelle Sarauw, US Virgin Islands, US House delegate. The former territorial senator became the first openly LGBTQIA+ person elected to represent the US Virgin Islands in Congress, defeating independent Shelley Moorhead. Sarauw will serve as the territory’s non-voting delegate, succeeding Stacey Plaskett.
Chris Gallant concedes New York congressional race
According to local reports, Chris Gallant was the only openly LGBTQIA+ congressional candidate to lose. The gay Army Black Hawk pilot conceded to Republican incumbent Nick LaLota in New York’s 1st District.
Gallant made headlines during the lead up to the election, after photos of him modelling in leathers for fetish website Mr. S Leather became a reported issue for the campaign. Gallant chose to stay in the race, and returned to a point he’d made throughout the campaign: judge him on what he can do for his community, not his identity (or clothing, apparently).
LGBTQIA+ candidates win governorships, statewide offices and local races
Governors
Maura Healey in Massachusetts and Tina Kotek in Oregon both won re-election.
Secretaries of state
Amanda Gonzalez won in Colorado and JoCasta Zamarripa won in Wisconsin.
Attorneys-general
Kris Mayes won a second term in Arizona, and Kim Ahern became the first openly LGBTQIA+ person elected to statewide office in Rhode Island.
Across the state legislatures, Allison Montgomery in Alabama, Bentley Hudgins in Georgia, Joanna Whaley in Michigan, Zooey Zephyr in Montana, Jaelynn Scott in Washington and Dina Nina Martinez-Rutherford in Wisconsin all won. That’s six openly trans or non-binary candidates heading into statehouses, despite the fact that millions of dollars was spent on anti-trans messaging in various federal and state campaigns.
Other LGBTQIA+ people in state seats include Brian Garcia (Arizona), Ann Johnson (Texas) and Malcolm Kenyatta (Pennsylvania), on his fifth term.
Source: https://www.starobserver.com.au/news/us-midterm-elections-the-us-has-elected-its-queerest-congress-in-history/244923
