WASHINGTON, DC — Today, LGBTQ+ Victory Fund is proud to announce its June endorsement slate of LGBTQ+ candidates running for office, which includes 18 new and incumbent candidates from 14 states including Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and Washington.
Highlights of this endorsement cycle include: Arizona State Representative Patty Contreras, who is running for an open Arizona State Senate seat after building a strong legislative record championing LGBTQ+ equality, reproductive freedom, and the right to privacy. Representing one of Arizona’s most competitive districts, Contreras enters the race with broad name recognition and a proven ability to earn support across party lines. Florida State Representative Michele Rayner, a civil rights attorney and three-term legislator who became the first openly queer Black woman elected to the Florida Legislature in 2020. Rayner is giving up a safe House seat to pursue an open Florida Senate seat, where she would become the first openly LGBTQ+ woman ever elected to the Florida Senate. Jaelynn Scott, Executive Director of the Lavender Rights Project, whose work has centered on advancing justice for Black transgender communities through legal advocacy and public policy. Scott is running for an open seat in the Washington State House with the support of leaders including Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, and would become the first openly transgender person ever elected to state office in Washington.
To date, 267 candidates have received LGBTQ+ Victory Fund’s endorsement for the 2026 campaign cycle. To earn LGBTQ+ Victory Fund’s endorsement, a candidate must be an out member of the LGBTQ+ community who supports LGBTQ+ equality and the right to bodily autonomy and demonstrates a path to victory.
LGBTQ+ Victory Fund endorses the following candidates:
Adam Peters (he/him)
Iowa House of Representatives
Andrew Fitch (he/him)
Massachusetts House of Representatives
Chris Massicotte (he/him)
Key West City Commission, FL
Christa Tichy (she/her)
Maryland House of Delegates
CJ Lucke (she/her)
Flagstaff City Council, AZ
Dwayne Keys (he/him)
Providence City Council, RI
Jackie Goldman (they/them)
Providence City Council, RI
Jaelynn Scott (she/her)
Washington House of Representatives
Jason Hoskins (he/him)
Michigan State Senate
Jason Lankford (he/him)
Oklahoma House of Representatives
Jeffrey Litke (he/him)
Connecticut House of Representatives
Jordan Wheatley (he/him)
Texas House of Representatives
Kevin Bloom (they/them)
Chittenden County Sheriff, VT
Lekeshia Hicks (she/her)
Montgomery County Commission, TN
Linsey Grove (she/her)
St. Petersburg City Council, FL
Michele Rayner (she/her)
Florida State Senate
Nate Ostdiek (he/they)
Nebraska Legislature
Patty Contreras (she/her)
Arizona State Senate
Find a searchable database of all endorsed candidates on the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund website, here. For interviews and additional background on LGBTQ+ candidates running nationwide, contact press@victoryfund.org.
About LGBTQ+ Victory Fund
LGBTQ+ Victory Fund works to achieve and sustain equality by increasing the number of out LGBTQ+ elected officials at all levels of government while ensuring they reflect the diversity of those they serve. Since 1991, Victory Fund has helped thousands of LGBTQ+ candidates win local, state and federal elections. victoryfund.org
###