This is a record that could have a major impact on the country’s political landscape.
Article written by
Posted at 2022-11-02 08:40 Updated at 2022-11-02 08:56
Reading time: 1 min
For the first time in the history of the United States, a lesbian, gay, bi or transgender person is running for midterm elections in each of the 50 states. It’s a record that could have a huge impact on the country’s political landscape, according to analysis released Oct. 26 by the LGBTQ Victory Fund, which helps fund LGBT+ political campaigns.
About 678 LGBT+ people are candidates in the Nov. 8 election, a vote that will see Americans renew all seats in the House of Representatives and a third of the Senate. A slew of gubernatorial and local elections are also at stake: these 678 candidates represent an 18.1% increase from the last election of 2020. About 90% of these candidates come from the Democrat camp.
Among the notable candidates, Democrats Tina Kotek and Maura Healey could become the first lesbian governors of their respective states of Oregon and Massachusetts. And in the state of Vermont, which borders Canada, Becca Balint has a good chance of becoming the state’s first lesbian to be elected to the House of Representatives. For Annise Parker, former mayor of Houston, Texas, and director of the LGBTQ Victory Fund, this record number of candidates, confirmed by primary elections, is a response by American voters “to this year’s relentless assault on the LGBT community.”