Dating back to Harvey Milk’s election in 1977, LGBTQ+ candidates have run for public office and made change: not just by representing their communities, but the LGBTQ+ community as a whole. In 2024, hundreds of LGBTQ+ candidates are running for office federally, on state levels, and locally. Here are three of the major LGBTQ+ candidates, either due to their identity or the importance of their race in the election.
Tammy Baldwin
Tammy Baldwin is the incumbent Democratic Senator from Wisconsin, and is running in one of the most important races of the 2024 election cycle against Eric Hoevde, a Californian transplant and businessman. Baldwin, who was first elected to the Senate in 2012, is the first openly LGBTQ+ member of the upper chamber. Current polling is flipping between the two
candidates, but Baldwin is heavily by most prognosticators to win this seat which is vitally important if Democrats wish to retain the Senate. This is made more likely to have importance due to the major downballot effect the Presidential race will have on this seat. The control of the Senate likely runs again through Wisconsin. Baldwin, who is a lesbian, has primarily focused her efforts on increasing manufacturing, protecting the right to an abortion, and safeguarding democracy, major tenents of the Democratic platform.
Sarah McBride
While conservatives have centered their attacks on the LGBTQ+ community this election through the veil of transphboia, with ads declaring that Kamala Harris is doing trans
surgeries on illegal immigrants, there is one shining light for trans representation. Sarah McBride, a current State Senator, is the Democratic nominee for Delaware’s one and only house district. Delaware’s solidly Democratic nature means very likely that McBride will become the first openly transgender member of Congress upon her election. To put that into perspective, only five other nations have elected a trans person to their national legislative bodies. However, it still remains likely that Republicans will hold the House. McBride spoke that she thinks that Republican leadership is not going to be kind to her, continuing to parade transphobic attacks that have became a hallmark of conservative politics in the last electoral cycle.
Malcolm Kenyatta
The election won’t just determine who is in charge federally, but on state and local levels. Malcolm Kentyatta, who is currently a state representative in Pennslyvania, is running to be the State Auditor General, which primarily functions as the chief financial watchdog of the state. Kenyatta, who was one of the first openly LGBTQ+ person of color elected to the Pennsylvania State House, will be the first openly LGBTQ+ statewide elected official if he wins in November. Kenyatta has focused his campaign on wage theft, Pennsylvania’s hospital system, and more.
In conclusion, there’s several LGBTQ+ candidates who are more than worthy of being elected in the 2024 election, not just because of their identities, but because of the policies they are going to implement if elected. LGBTQ+ leaders are at the forefront of the fight, because we know what is going to happen if people who despise us get in our way.
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