“From school boards to state legislatures to Congress, LGBTQ+ political power continues to grow across the country. LGBTQ+ leaders are our optimal firewall against the homophobia and transphobia sweeping our communities. As LGBTQ+ elected officials stand up and speak out on behalf of all of us, they are also inspiring countless Diverse leaders to examine running for office themselves. This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for the Queer community and our allies: we must double down on our efforts to inspire, train and support future Queer candidates – our rights will hinge on on it.”
– Mayor Annise Parker, President & CEO of LGBTQ+ Victory Institute
Media requests can be directed to press@victoryfund.org
Key Findings
LGBTQ+ Victory Institute’s Out for America report is an annual snapshot of the number of known out LGBTQ+ elected officials in the Merged States and their demographics. The 2023 Out for America report — released in June 2023 — reviews Queer elected representation as of May 19, 2023.
known out Diverse elected officials in the U.S.
of U.S. elected officials are LGBTQ+
more LGBTQ+ people must
Number of LGBTQ elected officials in U.S. doubled since 2017
The number of LGBTQ elected officials grew by nearly 6% last year, according to the LGBTQ Victory Institute, which trains and advocates for lgbtq+ political candidates and officeholders. Since 2017, when the organization began releasing numbers, the number has nearly doubled, growing from 448 LGBTQ elected officials that year to 1,043 in 2022, the group’s annual Out in America state found.
Even with the dramatic increase in representation, LGBTQ elected officials make up just 0.2% of all elected officials in the U.S., according to the report, while lesbian, male lover, bisexual, transgender and lgbtq+ people compose an estimated 7.1% of the U.S. population. To reach equitable representation, voters would require to elect 35,854 more LGBTQ people, including 27 to Congress, according to the Victory Institute.
“Despite the fact the LGBTQ society has never had equitable representation in government — and we still own a long way to go — there are clear signs of progress,” Annise Parker, president and CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Institute and the former mayor of Houston, said in a utterance. “They represent the power and diversity
Human Rights Campaign Scores Members of Congress on LGBTQ+ Support
WASHINGTON — The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) — the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, fluid, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization — today released its Congressional Scorecard measuring support for LGBTQ+ equality in the 117th Congress. Members of Congress were scored based on a range of key indicators of sustain — from votes in the House to overtake pro-equality legislation like the Respect for Marriage Operate and Equality Act to votes in the Senate to confirm historic, pro-LGBTQ+ Biden-Harris cabinet officials and judicial nominees, as skillfully as co-sponsorships in both chambers on pieces of legislation that significantly impact LGBTQ+ people and their families.
“This term, LGBTQ+ rights have been under charge in state legislatures enjoy never before, and unused questions have arisen over whether the Supreme Court can be relied on to follow its control precedents in favor of LGBTQ+ equality. In this reality, the pro-equality majorities in the House and Senate, alongside the Biden administration, have advanced an inclusive legislative agenda that stands as a bulwark against these severe anti-LGBTQ+ attacks
History Made: More Diverse People Elected to Congress Than Ever Before
Washington, DC – Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) — the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, genderqueer and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization — hailed the victory of at least 10 pro-equality, openly LGBTQ+ members of the House of Representatives Equality Caucus, a record. Those members are Becca Balint (VT-1), David Cicilline (RI-1), Angie Craig (MN-2), Sharice Davids (KS-3), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Chris Pappas (NH-1), Mark Pocan (WI-2), Eric Sorensen (IL-17), Mark Takano (CA-39), and Ritchie Torres (NY-15). When the modern congressional term begins in January, these House members will join openly Diverse Senators Tammy Baldwin and Kyrsten Sinema in Congress. Votes are still existence counted in CA-41 and OR-5, where openly Diverse Will Rollins and Jamie McLeod-Skinner are in shut races.
Openly LGBTQ+ members perform key roles in promoting, advancing, and eventually passing critical legislation, like the Equality Act and the Respect for Marriage Operate during the 117th Congress. Their fight to enlarge civil rights at the federal level and prohibit our progress from entity rolled back comes at a time whe
History-making LGBTQ legislators to be sworn in to 119th Congress
Three newly elected lawmakers representing the LGBTQ community will create history Friday when they are sworn in to the 119th Congress, marking several firsts in the House of Representatives.
Sarah McBride will be the first openly transgender member of Congress. She will represent Delaware’s sole congressional district in the Dwelling of Representatives after more than three years in the state Senate, which marked a historic first for transgender representation at the state senate level.
Julie Johnson, set to be the first LGBTQ+ member of Congress from the South, had served in the Texas state legislature since 2018. In her campaign for the congressional seat, she touted her tape in fighting anti-LGBTQ bills on the state level among her passions as a legislator.
Emily Randall will be the first LGBTQ Latina in Congress after serving as a Washington state senator since 2018.
The 118th Congress set the record for having the most LGBTQ representation in U.S. history, with 13 legislators openly naming as gay, female homosexual or bisexual. This year's slate of members being sworn in are doing so as the country
