Washington, DC – JD Ford won his election for the Indiana State Senate tonight and made history on the way, becoming the first openly LGBTQ person ever elected to the Indiana General Assembly. Indiana was one of the few states in the nation to have never elected an openly LGBTQ person to its state legislature. Currently just four openly LGBTQ elected officials serve in the entire state. Victory Fund made Ford one of its “Spotlight” candidates to raise awareness about his race, directly contributed $2500, and raised more than $4000 for his campaign.
“The Rainbow Wave has arrived in Indiana in a spectacular way,” said Mayor Annise Parker, President & CEO of LGBTQ Victory Fund. “Tonight JD made political history in becoming the first openly LGBTQ person ever elected to the Indiana General Assembly – a milestone moment for a state that was one of the few to have never elected an openly LGBTQ state legislator. But tonight Indiana voters made clear they will support LGBTQ candidates like JD who are determined to lead with solutions and have a clear passion for public service. We are certain JD’s victory tonight will inspire other LGBTQ Indianans to run for office and serve their communities.”
Live Election Night Results: Victory Fund is live-tracking the election results for 225 of its openly LGBTQ endorsed candidates. The latest updates can be found at victoryfund.org/results2018.
Rainbow Wave by the Numbers: LGBTQ Victory Fund released several reports on the unprecedented Rainbow Wave of openly LGBTQ candidates who ran for office during the 2018 election cycle, including one reporting on the total number of candidates who ran, another looking at the total number of candidates by state, and one analyzing Congressional and gubernatorial nominees.
