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Here are some key LGBTQ+ races to watch on Election Day
Here are some key LGBTQ+ races to watch on Election Day
From left: Sarah McBride, Malcolm Kenyatta, and Evan Low
There could be many firsts in this year's election.
Besides the presidential race and deciding who’ll control Congress, Tuesday’s election will feature numerous important races involving LGBTQ+ candidates. At least 668 out candidates will appear on ballots nationwide, up from 574 in 2020, according to the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund. Here’s a look at some of the key races. All the LGBTQ+ candidates mentioned here are Democrats.
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Sarah McBride is running to be the first out transgender member of Congress. She is running for Delaware’s sole seat in the U.S. House, succeeding Lisa Blunt Rochester, who vacated the post to run for U.S. Senate. McBride, facing Republican John Whalen III, is heavily favored to win in the majority Democratic state. In 2020, McBride was elected to Delaware’s state Senate, becoming the first out trans state senator in the nation.
Julie Johnson, a lesbian who has been in the Texas House since 2019, is seeking a seat in the U.S. House from the state’s 32nd Congressional District, which encompasses a suburban area near Dallas. She would be the first out LGBTQ+ person to represent a southern state in Congress. She would succeed Colin Allred, a Democrat who is running for U.S. Senate in an effort to unseat virulently anti-LGBTQ+ Republican Ted Cruz. Johnson is up against Republican Darrell Day and Libertarian Kevin Hale, but the district is predominantly Democratic, so she is likely to win.
Emily Randall is running to be the first out LGBTQ+ person to represent Washington State in Congress, and she would also be the first LGBTQ+ Latina in that body. Randall, a lesbian who’s currently a state senator, is running for U.S. House from Washington’s Sixth Congressional District, which is in a coastal area west of Seattle. The incumbent, Democrat Derek Kilmer, is not seeking reelection. Again, the district is heavily Democratic, so Randall is expected to beat Republican Drew McEwen.
More 2024 Election Coverage from The Advocate:
- Why The Advocate endorses Kamala Harris for president
- How pro-LGBTQ+ is Kamala Harris?
- Our 2024 LGBTQ+ voter guide
- Kamala Harris's 'first priority' as president
- Where does Donald Trump stand on LGBTQ+ rights?
- Kamala Harris: Our One-on-One With the Vice President
Evan Low is out to be the first LGBTQ+ Asian American elected to Congress from Northern California and the second nationwide. He would join his Southern California counterpart, Mark Takano, who’s seeking reelection. Low, a gay man of Chinese heritage, is a member of the California Assembly and was previously a City Council member and mayor of Campbell, Calif. He’s running for U.S. House from the 16th Congressional District, centered on Silicon Valley. He’s in a close race against a fellow Democrat, former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo. Under California’s system, the top two vote winners in the primary advance to the general election, regardless of party. The general election victor will succeed Democrat Anna Eshoo, who is retiring. Low has the endorsement of the California Democratic Party and Gov. Gavin Newsom, among others.
Malcolm Kenyatta is running for auditor general of Pennsylvania, and if elected, he would be the first out statewide elected official there. The auditor general has the duty of conducting audits of state spending to assure taxpayer dollars are used properly. Kenyatta, a Black gay man, has been in the Pennsylvania House since 2018, representing a Philadelphia district, making him the first out Black LGBTQ+ state legislator there, and he’s also running unopposed for reelection to the House. If he wins both races, he says he’ll resign his House seat and commit to a full term as auditor general. For the latter position, he’s up against Republican incumbent Tim DeFoor, who was Pennsylvania’s first Black statewide elected official, and three minor-party candidates.
Wisconsin’s Tammy Baldwin, the nation’s first out U.S. senator, is running for reelection in a tight race against Republican challenger Eric Hovde, but she has a slight edge. Baldwin, a lesbian, is a Wisconsin native and former state and county legislator, and Hovde, while also a native, has questionable ties to the state — he is CEO of a bank in Utah and has a home in California. However, he’s denounced Baldwin for having a partner, Maria Brisbane, who’s in the financial services industry, even though Baldwin doesn’t directly regulate that industry, and for sharing a home with Brisbane outside Wisconsin. The ads he’s run on the subject, however, seem to be an appeal to homophobia. Baldwin is seeking her third term in the Senate, and before that, she was the first LGBTQ+ person elected to the U.S. House while being out from the get-go; others, such as Barney Frank, had come out while already in office.
Lisa Middleton is seeking to become California’s first out trans state legislator. She is running in the state’s Senate District 28, located in the Southern California desert. She is currently a member of the Palm Springs City Council and has been mayor there, as the position rotates among council members. She’s challenging Republican incumbent Ochoa Bogh in a race that could be one of California's closest.
Iowa could also elect its first out trans state legislator. Aime Wichtendahl, a bisexual trans woman, is running for Iowa House from District 80 in the eastern part of the state. Wichtendahl is a member of the Hiawatha City Council, where she was the first out trans elected official in Iowa, and her Republican opponent, John Thompson, is a political newcomer. The incumbent, Democrat Art Staed, is vacating the seat to run for state Senate. Among registered voters, the district has a slight majority of Democrats.
Molly Cook, a bi woman who’s a registered nurse and health care activist, won a special election in May to become Texas’s first out state senator. She was elected to fill out the term of John Whitmire, who vacated the District 15 seat to take office as Houston mayor. That term runs only to the end of the year, however, so now Cook is running for a full four-year term in the Senate. She’s up against Republican Joseph L. Trahan, but she’s favored to win because the Houston district is heavily Democratic and LGBTQ+ — it includes the gayborhood of Montrose.
For information on even more LGBTQ+ candidates, visit the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund’s website.
