Despite Trump’s election, a glimmer of hope as transgender candidates win elections nationwide

In a year dominated by anti-transgender messaging from Republican campaigns and the reelection of former President Donald Trump, a record number of transgender candidates celebrated historic wins across the United States after Tuesday’s election. These victories, ranging from the first out transgender person elected to Congress to historic firsts in state and local governments, have sparked hope and optimism among LGBTQ+ advocates who see these results as proof of growing support for equality.

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State Sen. Sarah McBride’s election to the U.S. House of Representatives from Delaware marks a monumental step in transgender representation.

In addition to McBride’s groundbreaking victory, transgender candidates won significant races across the country. In Kentucky, Emma Curtis made history as the state’s first out transgender elected official, winning a seat on the County Council for Lexington-Fayette District 4. Minnesota’s Leigh Finke retained her seat in the state House of Representatives for District 66A. Zooey Zephyr, once banned from the floor of the state legislature for speaking out for trans rights, was reelected to represent Montana’s House District 100, while Kim Coco Iwamoto won a seat in Hawaii’s state legislature.

Other notable wins include Brianna Titone, reelected to the Colorado House of Representatives, and Jennifer Williams, who secured a position on the Trenton City Council in New Jersey. Evelyn Rios Stafford was reelected as Justice of the Peace in Washington County, Arkansas, and Jo Miller won a seat on the City Council in Woodbury, New Jersey. In Illinois, Precious Brady-Davis was elected to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Board of Commissioners in Chicago, while Vered Meltzer won a seat on the Appleton City Council in Wisconsin, and Alice Wade was elected to the New Hampshire State House.

These victories come despite a wave of anti-transgender advertisements and rhetoric from Republican campaigns. According to a new poll from the Human Rights Campaign, Equality Voters—those who prioritize LGBTQ rights—overwhelmingly rejected anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and turned out in large numbers to support pro-equality candidates. The HRC poll shows that 81 percent of Equality Voters and 84 percent of LGBTQ+ voters backed Vice President Kamala Harris for president, and while 64 percent of voters recalled seeing anti-trans attack ads, only 4 percent cited these issues as motivating their decision. “Equality Voters and LGBTQ+ voters showed up this election to vote for a brighter future,” said HRC President Kelley Robinson in a statement. “While the results of this election are deeply disappointing, this polling shows that strong majorities of Americans want elected officials to protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination and to stay out of the health care of trans people.”

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Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, executive director of Advocates for Trans Equality, discussed the paradoxical election results, noting that while Americans voted for Trump, they also showed broad support for LGBTQ+ candidates and ballot measures. “There is this paradox where a majority of Americans voted for Trump, who is extremely anti-trans, and yet many Americans also voted for out transgender candidates and in favor of LGBTQ rights in referendums,” Heng-Lehtinen told The Advocate. He explained that many voters prioritized economic issues over social issues when voting for Trump. “Most people are not voting because they are trying to take rights away from trans people,” he added. “They’re voting based on other things.”

For the LGBTQ community, these wins highlight a growing acceptance of transgender representation and a desire among many Americans for a more inclusive society, even as national politics remain deeply divided. HRC’s polling also shows broad support for protecting LGBTQ rights and ensuring non-interference in transgender healthcare, with 60 percent of Americans supporting federal anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people and 73 percent—including 60 percent of Republicans—agreeing that the government should not interfere with transgender healthcare.

Heng-Lehtinen emphasized the importance of resilience and unity within the LGBTQ+ community, calling this period a “new chapter of trans resistance.” “Every generation has had to do this, and now it is our turn to pick up the baton, show up, and fight back,” he said. Heng-Lehtinen encouraged LGBTQ individuals to get involved locally and nationally, reminding them that “the arc of history is long, and a second Trump presidency is only a chapter in the story, not the whole book.”