Representation by people from the LGBTQ community is still sparse within the U.S. government, especially for some of the most powerful positions.
Congress in particular has remained largely white, male, cisgender, and straight for the majority of the country’s history. And in the Senate, there’s been slow change, with politicians like Illinois’s Carol Moseley Braun, who became the first woman of color elected to the Senate, in 1992, and Wisconsin’s Tammy Baldwin, who became the first openly gay person elected to the U.S. Senate, in 2012.
Fortunately, the range of candidates running for and being elected to government positions has become more diverse, with a historic number of LGBTQ candidates who've won primaries this year. Now, ahead of the November 6 midterms, there are more LGBTQ candidates running than ever before. Below, we introduce some of these candidates and explain what you should know about them.
- Katie Hill, 31 — 25th Congressional District, California
- Sharice Davids, 38 — 3rd Congressional District, Kansas
- Lauren Baer, 37 — 18th Congressional District, Florida
- Angie Craig, 46 — 2nd Congressional District, Minnesota
- Jamie McLeod-Skinner, 51 — 2nd Congressional District, Oregon
- Chris Pappas, 38 — 1st Congressional District, New Hampshire
- Kyrsten Sinema, 42 — 9th Congressional District, Arizona
- Tammy Baldwin, 56 — 2nd Congressional District, Wisconsin
- Mark Pocan, 54 — 2nd Congressional District, Wisconsin
📸: Composite