12 LGBT Candidates Who Want Your Support

The Victory Fund, a political action committee that supports openly LGBT candidates for office, has announced its annual list of 12 high-profile, high-stake races to watch.

Among them are potentially the first openly gay Republican to be elected to Congress as a nonincumbent, the first openly bisexual person to be elected to Congress, and the first openly LGBT person of color to be elected to Congress. Additionally, the list includes a handful of state-level trailblazers, most of whom would be the first openly LGBT person in their state to be elected to the legislature.

The list of 12 comes out of a total 180 openly LGBT candidates endorsed by the Victory Fund this year, more than the organization has ever supported.

"We're going to be watching every single race closely, so it's very hard to choose just a dozen," said Tiffany Muller, Victory Fund's vice president for political operations. "While each of these races are important for different reasons, they represent what a truly groundbreaking year this has been for LGBT politics. These 12 are expected to be close, and we'll be fighting all the way up until Election Day."

Click through to see the candidates.

Tammy Baldwin -- U.S. Senate (Wisconsin) -- Could become the first openly LGBT member of the U.S. Senate.
Facebook | Victory Fund | Official Campaign Page

Josh Boschee -- North Dakota House of Representatives -- Could become the first out member of the state legislature.
Facebook | Victory Fund | Official Campaign Page

Kate Brown -- Oregon Secretary of State -- Second-highest-ranking elected official in the state.
Facebook | Victory Fund | Official Campaign Page

David Cicilline -- U.S. House (Rhode Island 1)-- Running for his first reelection to Congress in a tight race.
Facebook | Victory Fund | Official Campaign Page

Sean Patrick Maloney -- U.S. House (New York 18) -- Could become the first openly LGBT member of Congress from New York.
Facebook | Victory Fund | Official Campaign Page

Pictured: U.S. Sen Tom Carper with Marie Mayor

Marie Mayor -- Delaware House -- Could become the first out state legislator in Delaware.
Victory Fund | Official Campaign Page

Pictured: Tim Brown meets Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney

Tim Brown -- Ohio House of Representatives - Could become the only openly LGBT Republican state lawmaker in the U.S.
Facebook | Victory Fund | Official Campaign Page

Kyrsten Sinema -- U.S. House (Arizona 9) -- Could become the first out bisexual elected to Congress.
Facebook | Victory Fund | Official Campaign Page

Stephen Skinner -- West Virginia House of Representatives -- Could become the first openly LGBT state lawmaker in West Virginia.
Facebook | Victory Fund | Official Campaign Page

Andy Staton -- Delaware Senate -- Could become the first out state legislator in Delaware.
Facebook | Victory Fund | Official Campaign Page

Mark Takano -- U.S. House (California 41) -- Could become the first openly LGBT person of color in Congress.
Facebook | Victory Fund | Official Campaign Page

Richard Tisei -- U.S. House (Massachusetts 6) -- Could become the first out Republican elected to Congress as a nonincumbent.
Facebook | Victory Fund | Official Campaign Page