For the first time, LGBTQ candidates are running in all 50 US states and the nation’s capital, Washington, in this year’s midterm elections, as the LGBTQ community grows in influence as a voting bloc.
The achievement comes amid a boom in gay and transgender voters, which many predict may alter the electoral landscape over the next decade, pushing the conservative heartland of the United States in a more liberal direction.
According to a new analysis from the LGBTQ Victory Fund, 678 of the 1,065 LGBTQ candidates who ran primary campaigns for the November midterm elections made it onto the ballot, representing an 18% increase over 2020.
“Voters are sick and weary of the constant attacks on the LGBTQ community this year,” said Annise Parker, former Houston mayor and president of the LGBTQ Victory Fund.
“Bigots want us to sit at home and be quiet, but their attacks are backfiring and inspiring a new generation of LGBTQ leaders to run for office.”
Almost 90% of the LGBTQ candidates running in this year’s primaries are Democrats, such as Maura Healey and Tina Kotek, who are aiming to become the country’s first lesbian governors in Massachusetts and Oregon, respectively.
– ‘Unrelenting attacks’ –
Healey is comfortably ahead in her race, but Kotek is slightly behind in what is considered a toss-up.
Among a slew of other firsts that the LGBTQ community is hoping to see on election night, Vermont House candidate Becca Balint would be the state’s first lesbian representative to Congress.
Mary Louise Adams, an award-winning author, and professor who specializes in LGBTQ issues praised the progress made in ensuring that members of the LGBTQ community are “not just present, but visible and vocal” in public life.
“As a voter, I’d be more interested in learning what the candidates’ overall policies are and what ways they propose to build and support marginalized populations of all kinds,” the Queen’s University professor in Canada told AFP.
According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the country’s largest homosexual rights organization, the candidate numbers were hailed as a major improvement amid a year in which state lawmakers proposed a record 340-plus anti-LGBTQ laws.
Much of the legislation tries to prohibit transgender youngsters from participating in sports that correspond to their identified gender or from doing drag acts in schools.
“This year, Alabama enacted the most anti-transgender state legislative package in history, and the heightened focus on assaulting minors is absolutely disturbing,” said Cathryn Oakley, HRC’s state legislative director.
“It also testifies to our adversaries’ desperation. Public opinion has shifted so much in favor of equality that they are now attempting to make people fear children.”
– ‘A unique moment’ –
The legislative crackdown has spread to the US Congress, where House Republicans are considering their own bans on public discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation.
The contentious “Don’t Say Gay” rule in Florida prohibits education on the themes from kindergarten through third grade.
However, the federal bill goes far further, prohibiting such debate at events and in literature in any government institution.
According to HRC, LGBTQ Americans will become one of the fastest-growing voting blocs, rising at a “scale, scope, and pace that will radically change the American electoral landscape.”
The community is predicted to account for one in every ten votes, but that ratio is expected to climb to one in every seven by the end of the decade, according to a report released in October by Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
“Historic events like these can be a sign that people have become more comfortable with LGBTQ leaders in the political office making decisions on their behalf,” said Julia Himberg, author of “The New Gay for Pay: The Sexual Politics of American Television Production.”
“These kinds of moments can potentially contribute to greater social and institutional change.”
However, the professor of cinema and media studies at Arizona State University cautioned against extrapolating sweeping implications from a single election.
“Systemic transformation takes time and focus. As a result, we must exercise caution when making broad statements,” AFP was told by her.
“This election cycle is significant, but it is also a one-time event that may not be repeated.”
