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LGBTQ+ candidates are running to make history in California, Texas, North Carolina, and elsewhere.
Several LGBTQ+ candidates could make history in today’s Super Tuesday primary races.
California Democrats Evan Low and Will Rollins are seeking seats in the U.S. House. Low, a gay Asian American who’s currently in the California Assembly, would be the first out congressman from Silicon Valley. Numerous candidates, both Democrats and Republicans, are running in his congressional district, the 16th; under California’s top-two primary system, the two candidates with the most votes advance to the general election, regardless of party. The district’s current U.S. representative, Anna Eshoo, is retiring after 30 years in Congress.
In California’s 41st Congressional District, Rollins, a gay Democrat and former federal prosecutor, is running against incumbent Ken Calvert, a Republican he almost beat in 2022, and one other Democrat, Anna Nevenic. Rollins would be the first out congressman from Palm Springs.
In the state’s 30th Congressional District, several out candidates are vying with others for the seat being vacated by Adam Schiff as he runs for U.S. Senate. They include Jirair Ratevosian, Sepi Shyne, and Maebe A. Girl.
In the Senate race, the leading candidates are Schiff, U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, and U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, all Democrats and LGBTQ+ allies, are seeking the seat once held by Dianne Feinstein, who died last year. Former Major League Baseball player Steve Garvey is the highest-profile Republican in the race.
Other Californians seeking to make history include Steve Hansen, who could become Sacramento’s first out mayor; Lisa Middleton and Christy Holstege, both current Palm Springs City Council members, running to be California’s first out transgender and bisexual woman state legislators, respectively; and Ethan Weaver, who could restore LGBTQ+ representation to the City Council in Los Angeles, which is home to more LGBTQ+ people than any other California city.
In Texas, which has a traditional primary system with each party picking a nominee, Julie Johnson is seeking to be the state’s first out member of Congress — and the first from any southern state. Johnson, a lesbian Democrat and current state legislator, is running for the 32nd Congressional District seat, being vacated by fellow Democrat Collin Allred, who’s running for U.S. Senate.
Also in Texas, Lauren Ashley Simmons, a Black queer woman, is running in the Democratic Texas House District 146 primary against incumbent Shawn Thierry, who voted to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth in the state; Molly Cook is running to be the first out state senator; and Mo Jenkins is running for Texas House and would be the first out transgender person in the state legislature.
In North Carolina, Black queer woman Satana Deberry is running for the Democratic nomination for attorney general, seeking to become the first out statewide executive official there. Currently Durham County attorney, she would also be the first woman and first person of color to be North Carolina attorney general. The incumbent, Democrat Josh Stein, is running for governor. He is the leading candidate in the Democratic primary, and his likely Republican opponent in the general election will be Mark Robinson, a noted homophobe and transphobe who’s currently lieutenant governor.
There are also primaries today in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia. Find out candidates in those states at VictoryFund.org.
Pictured, from left: Lisa Middleton, Evan Low, and Julie Johnson
