Tammy Baldwin wins reelection to U.S. Senate and will be the only LGBTQ+ member

Democrat Tammy Baldwin has won election to a third term as a U.S. senator from Wisconsin, and she will be the only LGBTQ+ member left in the Senate.

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Baldwin’s victory provides a rare bright spot for Democrats and LGBTQ+ Americans in this year’s election, winning in a state that Donald Trump carried. The Associated Press, which called the race for her, reports that she has 49.4 percent of the vote to Republican Eric Hovde’s 48.5 percent with 99 percent of the vote counted as of Wednesday afternoon. Libertarian and America First Party candidates won small shares of the vote.

"The voters have spoken and our campaign has won," Baldwin wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "Wisconsinites chose someone who always puts them first, shows up, listens, and works with everyone to get the job done. I'm proud to head back to the Senate to keep fighting for our workers, farmers, and families that make our state great. From the bottom of my heart, thank you."

However, if the final count gives Baldwin less than a 1 percentage point lead, Hovde can seek a recount, the AP reports. He has not yet conceded the race.

Baldwin, a lesbian, was the first out LGBTQ+ U.S. senator when she was elected in 2012. With the decisions by lesbian Alphonza Butler and bisexual Kyrsten Sinema not to seek reelection, Baldwin will be the only out senator left. Butler, from California, who was appointed to fill out the remainder of the late Dianne Feinstein’s term, will be succeeded by fellow Democrat Adam Schiff, who won election Tuesday over Republican Steve Garvey. Sinema, from Arizona, is a former Democrat, now independent, who has taken some conservative positions. She was first elected in 2018. Democrat Ruben Gallego is leading Republican Kari Lake in the race to succeed her, but it hasn’t been called yet.

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Baldwin was elected to the U.S. House in 1998 and was a state and county legislator in Wisconsin before that. She was the first LGBTQ+ House member elected while being out in her first election; others had come out while already in office.

During this year’s campaign, Hovde ran ads accusing Baldwin of a conflict of interest because her partner, Maria Brisbane, works in the financial services industry, even though Baldwin doesn’t directly regulate that industry. The ads appeared to be a thinly veiled appeal to homophobia.

Hovde, who is anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-choice, has tenuous ties to Wisconsin — he runs a bank in Utah and has a home in Laguna Beach, Calif.

LGBTQ+ Victory Fund president and CEO Annise Parker praised Baldwin's win.

“LGBTQ+ Victory Fund is thrilled that Tammy Baldwin has prevailed and will retain her important seat and voice in the U.S. Senate representing Wisconsin. Despite unprecedented attacks on Tammy’s character and relationship, Wisconsin voters made the right choice to keep their time-tested champion in Washington," Parker said. "We are so proud to count Tammy as one of our most distinguished leaders and look forward to her next term in the Senate. We congratulate Tammy on her hard-fought victory and celebrate along with Wisconsin voters.”