Pennsylvania State Rep. Brian Sims announced this morning that he will be running for U.S. Congress.
Brian declared his bid to run for Pennsylvania’s 2nd congressional district, which includes much of Philadelphia, the area Brian currently represents in the Pennsylvania State House. The Congressional seat is held by 11-term Rep. Chaka Fattah, who was recently placed under federal indictment as a result of alleged racketeering and corruption.
As the first openly-gay representative elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Brian has always stood for equality, supporting marriage equality and introducing legislation to eliminate the gender wage gap. He also cosponsored the Pennsylvania Fairness Act, which would add sexual orientation, gender identity and expression to Pennsylvania’s nondiscrimination law. During his past two terms, Brian made a point to foster bipartisanship between the Democratic and Republican parties in the House.
Brian is running on a platform of justice and civil rights. He also supports investing in education, economic fairness and opportunity and increased gun regulation.
If Brian wins the seat, he will join the six other U.S. representatives and one U.S. senator who are openly LGBTQ. These are Rep. Jared Polis, Rep. David Cicilline, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, Rep. Mark Takano, Rep. Mark Pocan, Rep. Kyrsten Sinema and Sen. Tammy Baldwin. He will be the first openly-LGBTQ U.S. Congress member from Pennsylvania.
Brian’s race will rely heavily on the Democratic primary nomination, as the district has an overwhelmingly Democratic majority. You can visit Brian’s website to learn more about his campaign and find out how you can join.
Watch Brian’s campaign announcement below.