LGBT Candidates Score 40 Seats This Election

by Michael Jones · 2008-11-06 14:11:00 UTC
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Voting BoothGay and lesbian political candidates scored major political wins this past Election, adding at least 40 seats nationwide.  On the federal level, the U.S. House of Representatives added their third gay member, Representative-Elect Jared Polis (D-Colorado).  On the statewide level, especially in New England, LGBT candidates received major victories.

Fourteen openly gay and lesbian candidates were elected in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut to statewide office.   New York and California elected nine openly gay candidates to statewide office.  Arizona added two openly gay members to their state legislature.  And the following states saw at least one openly gay candidate win statewide election: Arkansas, Idaho, Illinois, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, Utah and Washington.

Utah?  Idaho?  Arkansas?

We may still be suffering defeats like Prop 8, Prop 102, and Amendment 2.  But the groundwork is being laid, especially in these states, for a politics that's representative of all Americans, including LGBT persons.

For additional news on LGBT candidates and how they fared across the U.S., check out the Victory Fund.

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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