Don’t despair, here are seven ‘good news’ LGBTQ+ election stories to lift your spirits
Montana State Rep. Zooey Zephyr (center) and her fiancée Erin Reed (left) talk with Ruth Belay during a Pride Celebration at the White House in Washington, DC, on June 10, 2023. Zephyr has just been reelected (Getty)
The US election result isn’t good news for Democrats, sadly, but there are some positive stories out there that might just improve your mood.
LGBTQ+ people around the world woke up to grim news that Donald Trump has won back the White House and the Republicans have wrestled control of the US senate.
Trump surpassed the 270 electoral-college-votes threshold in the early hours of Wednesday morning (6 November). And while the over-all news is certainly not good, on a wider margin things are a little better as several states made history by electing out LGBTQ+ candidates.
Here are just a few of the ‘good news’ election stories to lift your spirits.
Julie Johnson will be first out LGBTQ+ person to represent Texas in congress
The first on our list of good news election stories is the fact that Julie Johnson, who helped kill 76 of 77 anti-LGBTQ+ bills, defeated Republican Darrell Day to fill the Texas house of representatives seat left open by fellow Democrat Colin Allred, who was trying to unseat Ted Cruz in the US senate.
Johnson vowed to work for the reinstatement of women’s reproductive rights, strengthen gun laws, stop the “extremist agenda”, reduce the cost of prescription drugs and protect the Affordable Care Act. She was of five out Democrats in Texas who formed the first LGBTQ+ caucus in the Lone Star State’s legislature.
Emily Randall will be first LGBTQ+ Latina in congress
Emily Randall has been elected as the first LGBTQ+ Latina to represent Washington State in congress.
Randall, who lives in Bremerton with her wife Alison, beat Republican Drew MacEwen by more than 43,000 votes, to secure Washington’s sixth congressional district seat in the US house of representatives.
Her campaign website promised that she will work to “defend our democracy… fight for our right to make decisions about our bodies, our families and our futures, expand access to quality health care and ensure educational opportunities for all”.
Kentucky elects an out LGBTQ+ woman to state senator for the first time
Kentucky has its first out LGBTQ+ woman state senator.
On Tuesday (5 November), Keturah Herron made history as the first LGBTQ+ woman, and person of colour, to win a seat in the Kentucky state senate.
She became the first out LGBTQ+ member of the state House of Representatives in 2022, and last month won the 2024 Tammy Baldwin breakthrough award from the LGBTQ+ Victory Institute.
Iowa elects its first trans state house of representatives member
Aime Wichtendahl has become Iowa’s first transgender state house of representatives member.
Wichtendahl, who made history in 2015 as the first trans woman elected to government in the Hawkeye State, wrote on her campaign website that she ran for the Iowa house because “we have a government in Des Moines that wants your vote, but not your opinion”.
She won approximately 52 per cent of the vote to beat to Republican John Thompson for the seat in the statehouse, making history as Iowa’s first transgender state lawmaker. She has a son, Steven, and has written The Butterfly and the Flame, a novel about a future dystopian America where LGBTQ+ people can be executed.
Trans Montana representative Zooey Zephyr wins re-election
Montana Democrat and staunch trans activist, Zooey Zephyr, was re-elected to her Missoula seat, winning 83 per cent of the vote.
Zephyr, who was famously censured for her support of trans rights in the state house, polled 3,370 votes compared to her Republican rival Barbara Starmer’s 703.
In a post following the result, Zephyr promised to “fight for [her] constituents… stand up against those who seek to break democracy, and be a bulwark against the rising tide of American fascism”.
Her fiancée, independent journalist Erin Reed, said she was “so proud”.
Rachel Maddow broke the tension with much-needed lesbian joke
Amid the nail-biting tension, lesbian news anchor Rachel Maddow was praised for “getting us all to laugh for once, when we need it” with a joke about her sexuality.
When fellow host Nicolle Wallace told panellists not to “sleep on men” when talking about how males were voting, Maddow joked: “I’ve been saying that my whole life.”
And Sarah McBride became the first out trans person elected to congress
Sarah McBride, who made history in 2020 as the the first trans woman to be elected to a state senate, defeated Republican John Whalen III on Tuesday (5 November) to make history once again and win Delaware’s at-large seat.
The 34-year-old took 57.6 per cent of the vote with 63 per cent of the state’s votes in, NBC News and The New York Times reported. Celebrating the news on social media, McBride wrote in a statement: “Thank you, Delaware! Because of your votes and your values, I am proud to be your next member of Congress.
“Delaware has sent the message loud and clear that we must be a country that protects reproductive freedom, that guarantees paid leave and affordable child care for all our families, that ensures that housing and health care are available to everyone and that this is a democracy that is big enough for all of us.”
Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.
How did this story make you feel?
