LGBTQ News
Out former lawmaker Janelle Sarauw (D) has been declared the next Delegate to the House of Representatives from the US Virgin Islands, where she will advocate for the interests of people who live in the territory. Check out the latest about America votes in the 2026 Midterm Elect...
Out former lawmaker Janelle Sarauw won her race to be the Delegate to the US House of Representatives from the US Virgin Islands in a landslide. The St. Thomas Source reports that she has won 75% of the votes so far. She will replace outgoing Delegate Stacey Plaskett, who ran for...
Out lawmaker Amanda Gonzalez has been projected to win the statewide race in Colorado. She said she hopes to build trust in elections in the position. Check out the latest about America votes in the 2026 Midterm Elections. Join us for 24 hour election coverage. on LGBTQNation.com...
Out bisexual veteran JoAnna Mendoza is the projected winner of Arizona's Sixth Congressional District, The Hill reports, leading Republican incumbent Rep. Juan Ciscomani by 18.5% percentage points as 70% of the votes have been counted. "To be a leader means to do what’s right, ev...
Out San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert (D) is projected to win the race for California's 48th Congressional District. She currently leads Republican Jim Desmond with 59.4% of the vote and 49% of the votes counted, according to the AP. Her victory flips the seat blue. ...
This story originally appeared on The Advocate.State Rep. Leigh Finke, Minnesota’s first out transgender legislator and a leading advocate for protections for transgender patients, has won reelection to the Minnesota House.Finke, a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, def...
Nebraska voters have approved of ballot Measure 442, the so-called "Fairness for Girls initiative, The Daily Nebraskan reported, with 67% of voters supporting the initiative as of midnight local time. The measure will write into the state constitution a 2025 law, sponsored by sta...
Nebraska voters have approved of ballot Measure 442, the so-called "Fairness for Girls initiative, The Daily Nebraskan reported, with 67% of voters supporting the initiative as of midnight local time. The measure will write into the state constitution a 2025 law, sponsored by sta...
This story originally appeared on The Advocate.Michigan voters have elected Abdul El-Sayed to the U.S. Senate, making him the first Muslim elected to the chamber after a campaign in which he defended transgender patients, challenged Republican attacks on their health care and wea...
This story originally appeared on The Advocate.Missouri voters have rejected an amendment that would have reversed reproductive rights protections they adopted in 2024 and placed restrictions on transgender minors’ medical care in the state constitution.The Associated Press calle...
In an interview with The New York Times, President Trump said that he was willing to accept the results of tonight's election, after weeks of suggesting that he wouldn't. Trump said that he was "absolutely willing" to accept the results, which were a rebuke to his administration ...
This story originally appeared on The Advocate.Vermont Democratic Congresswoman Becca Balint successfully defended her seat for the state’s at-large congressional district, defeating Republican opponent Gerald Malloy and earning her third term in the U.S. House of Representatives...
This story originally appeared on The Advocate.Democratic state Rep. Ann Johnson, an openly lesbian lawmaker who has pushed to expand LGBTQ+ protections in Texas, has won reelection to the state House of Representatives, defeating Republican challenger Mike Michna.Johnson secured...
This story originally appeared on The Advocate.Arizona voters have strongly rejected a constitutional amendment that would have restricted DEI and sensitivity training in public education and government workplaces.Proposition 142, also known as the "Prohibit Race- or Ethnicity-Ba...
Missouri voters have rejected Amendment 3, a ballot measure which sought to permanently ban gender-affirming care for youth in the state while also repealing a 2024 voter-approved abortion-rights amendment. Amendment 3 failed after getting only 44% of voter support. Read our full...
This story originally appeared on The Advocate.It’s a blue wave in America, and there’s a rainbow too.Democrats surged into Republican territory Tuesday night, with LGBTQ+ candidates helping flip congressional seats, breaking barriers in Texas and securing another term for the na...
The U.S. Senate has flipped to Democratic control. Democrats will control of the Senate after flipping the minimum four Republican-held seats, giving the party control of both chambers of Congress and a majority in the legislative branch, according to NBC. The Senate, the upper l...
This story originally appeared on The Advocate.Donald Trump has always been awful. And his followers have arguably always been worse.In 2015, when Trump mocked a reporter living with disabilities, it should have been enough to disqualify him from ever getting enough votes to even...
The blue wave has finally reached shore. On Tuesday, and in the days leading up to it, Americans made their voices heard at the ballot box. Polls across the country had indicated a resounding victory for Democrats that has materialized tonight in the form of a majority in the U.S...
Amy Acton has won Ohio's gubernatorial race, according to The Hill. She defeated her rabidly anti-LGBTQ+ opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy. Acton upset transgender voters and allies by voicing support for her state’s anti-trans sports ban. She subsequently skipped a listening session tha...
This story originally appeared on The Advocate.Congressman Mark Takano has handily secured an eighth term in the U.S. House of Representatives, defeating Republican Steve Manos, who ran a long-shot campaign against the incumbent in California’s Democratic-leaning 39th Congression...
This story originally appeared on The Advocate.California voters have elected bisexual Democrat Marni von Wilpert to Congress, flipping a Republican-held seat for a civil rights attorney whose breast cancer diagnosis turned the debate over healthcare into a question about her own...
This story originally appeared on The Advocate.Tina Kotek has won a second term as Oregon’s governor, returning a supporter of LGBTQ+ rights and reproductive freedom to the state’s highest office.The Democrat defeated Republican nominee Christine Drazan, according to Decision Des...
This story originally appeared on The Advocate.California voters have reelected U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia, returning an out gay immigrant and one of Democrats’ leading investigators to Congress as the party seeks greater power to scrutinize President Donald Trump’s administration.G...
This story originally appeared on The Advocate.Democratic Rep. Emily Randall, who made history in 2024 as the first openly LGBTQ+ Latina elected to Congress, has won reelection in Washington’s 6th Congressional District, securing a second term in the House of Representatives.Rand...
In a stunning victory for Democrats, James Talarico has easily defeated Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the battle for Senate, The Hill has reported. Talarico was ahead of Paxton by more than a million votes when Associated Press called the race. Talarico's win flips another...
This story originally appeared on The Advocate.In a stunning upset, voters in deep red South Carolina chose Democrat Dr. Annie Andrews as their senator-elect Tuesday, unseating Republican Sen. Darline Graham, the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham and the candidate hand-selec...
The U.S. House of Representatives is projected to flip to Democratic control. According to the Associated Press, Democrats are moving toward control of the House after defeating six Republicans in key battleground races. While several major questions remain about how Democrats wi...
This story was originally reported by Shefali Luthra of The 19th. Meet Shefali and read more of their reporting on gender, politics and policy.James Talarico will be the first Democrat to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate since 1994, Decision Desk HQ projects — a stunning upset ...
Democrat US Senate candidate Annie Andrews has defeated Republican Sen. Darline Graham, winning 50.9% of the vote compared to Graham's 47%. The victory brings the Democratic Party one seat closer to winning slim control of the upper congressional chamber. Graham was appointed to ...
This story originally appeared on The Advocate.Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey defeated Republican Mike Minogue to win a second term, extending the tenure of one of the nation’s first out lesbian governors.Decision Desk HQ called the election at 10:13 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday...
Maryland voters on Tuesday approved a state constitutional amendment that would grant state lawmakers more authority to redistrict congressional districts. Question 2 passed by a 60.05-33.20 percent. Democratic Gov. Wes Moore, who was re-elected on Tuesday, and other members of h...
This story originally appeared on The Advocate.Democratic congressional candidate JoAnna Mendoza, an openly LGBTQ+ Marine veteran who served during the military’s discriminatory "don’t ask, don’t tell” era, has defeated Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani in Arizona’s 6th Congressiona...
According to MS NOW, Democrats will be the majority party in the House of Representatives in the next session of Congress. It's the first time that Democrats have had control of the House since 2022. MS NOW predicted that Democrats will hold 244 House seats and Republicans will h...
This story originally appeared on The Advocate.Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr, the transgender Democrat who became a national figure after Republican lawmakers barred her from the House floor in 2023, has secured another term representing the Missoula area.Zephyr ran unopposed i...
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) has won re-election to New York’s 15th Congressional District, according to Decision Desk HQ, which called the race at 9 p.m. local time. Torres won 76.84% of the vote over his nearest competitor, Republican candidate Stylo Sapaskis, who won 10.67%. Tor...
This story originally appeared on The Advocate.Rep. Eric Sorensen, a former TV meteorologist and the first out LGBTQ+ person elected to Congress from Illinois, has won a third term representing the state’s 17th Congressional District.In Tuesday’s election, he faced GOP small busi...
This story originally appeared on The Advocate.Virginia voters have approved constitutional protections for marriage equality, removing the state’s unenforceable ban on same-sex marriage 20 years after voters added it to the commonwealth’s founding document.Question 2 passed with...
Virginia voters on Tuesday approved an amendment to the state constitution that will codify marriage rights for same-sex couples. Question 2 passed by a 57.39-42.61 percent margin. "At long last, one more relic of past discrimination is being wiped from the lawbooks, and now marr...
This story originally appeared on The Advocate.It was not just a blue wave at the ballot box, but a rainbow wave that voters chose on Tuesday. Here's a look at all of the out queer winners decided in the 2026 midterm election. Sen-elect Chris Pappas (D) New HampshireChris Pappas ...
Gay Senator-elect Chris Pappas thanked his husband during a speech Tuesday night. "I want to thank the guy next to me, my amazing husband, Vann. He's always been by my side. Win, lose or draw, I'm the luckiest guy because I'm married to a man that I love," Pappas said. Pappas wil...
This story originally appeared on The Advocate.Delaware state Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall has won a second term representing the coastal communities around Rehoboth Beach, returning an out lesbian and longtime democracy advocate to a legislature grappling with questions about civil r...
This story originally appeared on The Advocate. Rep. Mark Pocan, one of the longest-serving out LGBTQ+ members of the U.S. House of Representatives, will extend his service.The Democratic U.S. Representative for Wisconsin’s 2nd congressional district had run unopposed for an eigh...
Delaware’s incumbent Congresswoman Sarah McBride was re-elected to the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday. She is the first transgender person elected to the federal legislature. McBride maintained control of the state’s single congressional seat, defeating Republican Josep...
This story originally appeared on The Advocate.Rep. Ritchie Torres has won a fourth term representing New York’s 15th Congressional District, returning the Bronx Democrat to Washington as he presses the Trump administration over its handling of LGBTQ+ housing discrimination compl...
This story originally appeared on The Advocate.Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids has won reelection in Kansas’ 3rd Congressional District, securing a fifth term in Congress and preserving the historic representation she helped establish as one of the first two Native American w...
Former NC Gov. Roy Cooper is projected to win his race for the Senate in North Carolina, replacing retiring Republican Thom Tillis. Early in the election cycle, North Carolina was considered a battleground state, but Cooper pulled ahead of his Republican rival, Michael Whatley, t...
Out lesbian Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey has won re-election, the Associated Press has reported. She defeated her competitor, Republican nominee Mike Minogue, a former medical tech executive who spent over $18 million of his own money on his campaign, WBUR reported. In 2022, H...
This story originally appeared on The Advocate.Georgia voters have elected Bentley Hudgins to the state House, making the longtime organizer the first out transgender and nonbinary person elected to the Georgia General Assembly.The Democrat defeated Republican Samantha Boston in ...
New Hampshire Congressman Chris Pappas on Tuesday became the first openly gay man elected to the U.S. Senate. The Granite State Democrat defeated Republican John E. Sununu, who represented New Hampshire in the Senate from 2003-2009, by a 56.2-41.9 percent margin. Sununu conceded ...
This story originally appeared on The Advocate.Nonbinary Delaware state representative DeShanna Neal secured their seat for District 13 after running unopposed.Neal was first elected to the Delaware Statehouse in 2022, making them the state’s first-ever nonbinary elected official...
This story originally appeared on The Advocate.Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta won reelection to represent Pennsylvania’s 181st District in the House of Representatives, securing a fifth term.The out gay politician made history in 2018 when he became the first out gay Black person elected ...
This story originally appeared on The Advocate.Delaware voters have given Congresswoman Sarah McBride a second term in the U.S. House of Representatives, returning the first out transgender federal lawmaker to an institution where Republicans targeted her access to a bathroom bef...
This story originally appeared on The Advocate.Michigan voters have elected Jeremy Moss to the U.S. House of Representatives, sending the state’s first out LGBTQ+ member to Congress after a legislative career that helped secure explicit civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ Michiga...
Arizona voters have passed Proposition 318, the so-called “Protect Girls Sports in Arizona Act,” The Arizona Mirror reported. Approximately 57.2% of voters approved of the ballot initiative and 42.8% opposed it, The New York Times reported. Based on a 2022 Arizona law that federa...
Mark Takano, the first non-white gay member of the Congress, has easily won election to an eighth term representing his California district. He defeated Republican nominee Steve Manos by a margin of about 30 percent. Mark Takano has been serving as chair of the Congressional Equa...
Tina Kotek, the nation's first out lesbian governor, won election to a second term, defeating Republican candidate Christine Drazan. The race was a replay of the 2022 election, which Kotek won by 3.5 percentage points. Polling in the race put the two candidates running close toge...
Out lesbian Cait Conley has flipped a key seat for the Democrats, defeating incumbent Rep. Mike Lawler in the New York district. Lawler has conceded defeat in the Hudson Valley district, saying, “When all of the votes are counted tomorrow in Westchester it’s going to be pretty cl...
Virginia has voted to repeal its same-sex marriage ban and enshrine marriage equality into the state Constitution. NBC News reports that yes votes are currently at 56.2% and no votes at 43.8%, with 78.2% reporting. Read our full article on the ballot measure here. Check out the l...
Out trans Rep. Sarah McBride (D-DE) has become the first trans woman to win reelection to Congress as her state's sole representative, according to a projection by Decision Desk HQ. Republicans have not won Delaware’s single U.S. House seat since 2008. Decision Desk HQ reported M...
