The 2022 midterms have so far brought a number of victories for the LGBTQ+ community. According to the Victory Fund, 678 LGBTQ+ candidates made it onto the general election ballot this year — a roughly 18 percent increase from 2020. Also, for the first time, there were LGBTQ+ candidates on the ballots in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
Wins on the national level:
- Massachusetts elected its first woman and openly lesbian governor, Maura Healey (D). Her victory flipped the governorship after eight years of Republican leadership.
- Tina Kotek (D), another openly lesbian candidate, also made history after winning the Oregon governorship in a tight race.
- In Vermont, Democrat Becca Balint (D) won the state's only House seat, making her the first woman and member of the LGBTQ+ community to hold the position.
- California's 42nd District elected Robert Garcia (D), now the first openly gay immigrant to win election to the House of Representatives. Garcia immigrated to the U.S. from Peru at the age of five and was undocumented, but received his citizenship years later as an adult.
- Eric Sorensen (D) proved victorious in Illinois' 17th District, making him the first member of the LGBTQ community to represent the state in Congress.
Wins on the state level:
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
- James Roesener (D), a bisexual transgender man, was elected to the New Hampshire state legislature. He is the first transgender man in the country to be elected to a state legislature.
- Erick Russell (D) was elected Connecticut treasurer, making him the first Black member of the LGBTQ community to win statewide office anywhere in the country.
- Minnesota and Montana elected their first transgender legislators: Leigh Finke (D) and Zooey Zephyr (D), respectively.
Update Nov. 11, 2022: This article has been updated to include additional LGBTQ+ achievements in the 2022 midterms.
-
Starbucks workers are planning their ‘biggest strike’ everThe Explainer The union said 92% of its members voted to strike
-
‘These wouldn’t be playgrounds for billionaires’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
The 5 best nuclear war movies of all timeThe Week Recommends ‘A House of Dynamite’ reanimates a dormant cinematic genre for our new age of atomic insecurity
-
Has Zohran Mamdani shown the Democrats how to win again?Today’s Big Question New York City mayoral election touted as victory for left-wing populists but moderate centrist wins elsewhere present more complex path for Democratic Party
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
