WASHINGTON — A LGBTQ Victory Fund report last week stated that from 432 out LGBTQ candidates, 244 won their races.
The Victory Fund, a group dedicated to getting LGBTQ people into elected office, was active in the midterm elections and 162 of the candidates they endorsed won office.
The high points from the data:
- 5 percent of known out LGBTQ candidates won their races on Election Day, and 72.0 percent of Victory Fund endorsed candidates were successful;
- 136 of the 244 victorious candidates are non-incumbents and 79.3 percent of incumbent candidates won their races;
- LGBTQ men ran in higher numbers than LGBTQ women, yet women candidates won at a higher rate (63.4 percent to 56.7 percent);
- 0 percent of LGBTQ candidates who ran were people of color and 56.5 percent won their races; and
- 1 percent of LGBTQ candidates ran as Democrats and 61.0 percent won, whereas 5.3 percent of LGBTQ candidates ran as Republicans and just 17.4 percent won.
In Illinois, six of the seven candidates endorsed by the Victory Fund won their elections, and even the one candidate who didn’t, Maggie Trevor, lost by less than a point. LGBTQ candidates overall did very well in Illinois.
“Never in our nation’s history have so many openly LGBTQ people decided to run for office and be the change they demand to see in the world – and we are determined to ensure this energy does not fade,” said former Houston Mayor Annise Parker, President & CEO of Victory Fund, in a press release. “We were able to ensure many of these leaders crossed the finish line on Election Day, and importantly, LGBTQ incumbents were overwhelmingly reelected by voters in states both red and blue.”
Graphics courtesy of LGBTQ Victory Fund