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Pennsylvania's Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta sought to "beat beatable bigots," and he says the group helped do just that.
Tuesday's election marked a successful round of political activism for the pro-LGBTQ+ Agenda PAC.
In the Pennsylvania governor and U.S. Senate races as well as the competitive California 41st Congressional District, the organization spent nearly $150,000 on paid communications, according to an Agenda PAC press release. In addition to connected TV, YouTube, Facebook, and Snapchat, plus billboards, the group used the popular gay dating app Grindr to reach voters.
With the win of Democrat Josh Shapiro over Republican Doug Mastriano to secure the Pennsylvania governorship and John Fetterman besting television personality Mehmet Oz, Agenda PAC swept all races in the state it invested in.
"Agenda PAC started because our basic freedoms are under attack and knew we needed to fight back. That's exactly what we did," said Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, Agenda PAC's chairperson. "The stakes were too high to sit this election out."
Kenyatta said that Agenda PAC became a force to be reckoned with as the country geared up for the 2022 midterm election.
"We've just started beating the beatable bigots, and we aren't slowing down," Kenyatta said.
In the two months since the group's inception, Agenda PAC targeted Pennsylvania races for governor and U.S. Senate. With a six-figure targeted digital ad buy on social media, the group launched attacks on Mehmet Oz and Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominees for U.S. senator and governor respectively.
Agenda PAC hit Mastriano and Oz with targeted ads on Grindr, reminding users of the election's stakes.
In the last week leading up to Election Day, Agenda PAC, Equality California, and LGBTQ Victory Fund teamed up against Republican U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert for his anti-LGBTQ+ record. Calvert ran against Democrat Will Rollins, an out gay former federal prosecutor.
"We're proud of what we accomplished in just over two months," said Ted Bordelon, Agenda PAC's executive director. He added that issues ranging from reproductive autonomy to LGBTQ+ rights were on the ballot this year and will continue to be critical electoral issues in the future.
"With so much on the line, including the future of LGBTQ+ rights, delivering in this election is a beacon of hope for our ability to build a sustainable movement in future election cycles."
