On a night (Nov. 5) that featured Donald Trump’s stunning win over Kamala Harris to become president for a second term, there were some bright spots in races that featured LGBTQ+ (or the defeat of extremely anti-queer) candidates.
In North Carolina, Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein won the governor’s race over anti-LGBTQ+ Republican extremist Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, media outlets reported. According to NBC News, Stein secured 54.8% of the vote while Robinson got 40.2%. Politico noted that Stein was already leading Robinson when it was reported in September that Robinson allegedly made lewd posts more than a dozen years ago on pornographic online forums, including that he was a “black Nazi” and enjoyed watching transgender pornography, among other comments.
In a press release that Windy City Times received, Campaign for Southern Equality Communications & Political Director Adam Polaski said, “North Carolinians soundly rejected the divisive, hateful rhetoric of Mark Robinson tonight—because most North Carolinians don’t want our state to be led by an anti-LGBTQ+ extremist. Our state will be much better off under the leadership of Governor-elect Stein, and we look forward to working with his administration to undo some of the harm caused by North Carolina’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws, including the “Don’t Say LGBTQ+” law impacting schools and the laws prohibiting transgender youth from accessing healthcare or playing school sports. We can and we will build a more inclusive and welcoming North Carolina for all of us.”
The trans community will be represented in the U.S. Congress, as Democratic Delaware state Sen. Sarah McBride won the state’s only House seat—making her the first openly transgender person elected to the national legislative body, per NBC News. McBride defeated Republican John Whalen III by taking 57.8% of the vote with 95% of the ballots in. McBride thanked her friends and family and her late husband, Andrew Cray, who died of cancer in 2014—days after their wedding.
Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson called McBride’s win “a landmark achievement on the march toward equality.”
Also, Marianna Anaya became the first queer woman of color to represent New Mexico’s District 18, the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund noted. Becca Balint—the first out LGBTQ+ person and the first woman elected to Congress from Vermont—easily won re-election. Ohio’s third-largest county chose Charmaine McGuffey as sheriff once again, as she was projected to defeat Jim Neil, who announced in 2023 that he intended to run to take his old job back from McGuffey, who was elected in 2020. William Brownsburger, who identifies as pansexual, was re-elected to the Massachusetts state legislature. Queer woman Park Cannon was re-elected to the Georgia House. LGBTQ+ candidate Molly Cook—an emergency nurse and community organizer—was elected for the Texas Senate District 15 seat, succeeding Houston Mayor John Whitmire, per Houston Public Media.
Angie Craig was re-elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota. In California, out gay Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia won re-election to a U.S. House seat representing California by defeating John Briscoe, a Republican and former school board trustee; it will be Garcia’s second term in Congress after he previously served as mayor of the city of Long Beach, according to KRON4. And Torrey Harris—one of the first out LGBTQ+ members of the Tennessee state legislature—was re-elected as well.
However, there were also defeats. In Pennsylvania, incumbent Auditor General Tim DeFoor denied Malcolm Kenyatta the chance to be the first out LGBTQ+ statewide official. DeFoor, a Republican, promoted his decades of experience as a health-care and government auditor and as the former Dauphin County controller, per The Philadelphia Inquirer. Also, in the race in New York’s 17th Congressional District, Republican incumbent Michael Lawler eased past out LGBTQ+ Democrat Mondaire Jones. And former San José Mayor Sam Liccardo held a substantial lead late on Nov. 5 against LGBTQ+ state Assemblymember Evan Low, a fellow Democrat, in a contentious South Bay congressional race, according to KQED.
As for one of the nation’s most closely-watched U.S. Senate races—a Wisconsin battle between Republican Eric Hovde and LGBTQ+ incumbent Tammy Baldwin—NBC News noted that it was too close to call. As for the early-morning hours of Nov. 6, Hovde held a very slight lead. The GOP already had won a majority of the Senate. Also, Democrat Lisa Middleton was nearly tied with Republican Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh in the former’s bid to become the first out trans member of the California legislature.
(UPDATE: Baldwin won her third term in the U.S. Senate, edging Hovde.)