LGBTQ Candidates Secure Victories Nationwide in Rainbow Wave

With an unprecedented number of LGBTQ midterm candidates this year – 240 – the 2018 midterm election gave way to a number of LGBTQ firsts and victories, reported MSN.

Jared Polis made history as the first gay man to be elected governor. The Colorado Democrat beat out Republican state Treasurer and second cousin of former President George W. Bush, Walker Stapleton.

Sharice Davids became both the first LGBTQ person and Native American to represent Kansas in Congress. Susan Ruiz and Brandon Woodard became the first LGBTQ members of the Kansas state legislature.

Chris Pappas will be New Hampshire’s first openly gay member of Congress, as will Angie Craig in Minnesota, after beating and unseating anti-LGBTQ congressman Jason Lewis.

New Hampshire elected two transgender women, Gerri Cannon and Lisa Bunker, to the House of Representatives.

The son of two lesbian mothers, Zach Wahls, became an Iowa state lawmaker. Wahls defended his mothers and gay marriage in 2011 before the Iowa House of Representatives.

Malcom Kenyatta became the first LGBTQ black man elected to the Pennsylvania state legislature.

Among the LGBTQ re-elected officials are Kate Brown, the nation’s first bisexual governor, and Tammy Baldwin, the nation’s first LGBTQ senator.

Massachusetts voters voted yes on Question 3, legislation that forbids discrimination on the basis of gender identity – a huge win for the state’s transgender community.

Pro-LGBTQ candidates who took home a victory last night in Georgia include Jen Jordan, Sally Harrell, Zahra Karinshak, Erica Thomas, Erick Allen, Michael Wilensky, Scott Holcomb, Donna McLead, Shelly Hutchinson, El-Mahdi Holly, and Carnia Hopson. LGBTQ candidates Sam Park and Matthew Wilson also won their elections: House District 101 and House District 80, respectively.