Today, LGBTQ+ Victory Fund is proud to announce its January endorsement slate of LGBTQ+ candidates running for office, which includes 36 new and incumbent candidates from 19 states — VA, NC, TX, IL, OK, VT, OH, NE, OR, CA, IA, CO, ME, MD, MI, AZ, WI, MA and NY.
Candidates in this endorsement cycle include NC State Senator Lisa Grafstein running for reelection as the only out LGBTQ+ State Senator in the North Carolina General Assembly. Winn Decker is running to join Grafstein in the NC General Assembly, representing Wake County, and increase LGBTQ+ representation in the legislative body. Alexandria, VA City Councilmember Kirk McPike won a ‘firehouse’ primary earlier in January and will run in the Virginia House of Delegates Special Election on February 10. And Norman, OK, City Councilmember Helen Grant, the only nonbinary elected official in Oklahoma, will also have their election on February 10.
To date, 83 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:
2026 Incumbents Endorsed January 2026
Helen Grant (they/them) – Norman City Council, Ward 4, OK
Louie Minor (he/him) – Bell County Commission, Precinct 4, TX
Jonathan West (he/him) – Manchester Selectboard, VT
George Leach (he/him) – Court of Common Pleas, Franklin Co. Judge, OH
John Fredrickson (he/him) – Nebraska State Senate, District 20, NE
Ben Bowman (he/him) – Oregon House of Representatives, District 25
Jeffrey Prang (he/him) – Los Angeles County Assessor, CA
Amie Carter (she/her) – Sonoma County Superintendent of Schools, CA
Elinor Levin (she/her) – Iowa House of Representatives, District 89
Ken Carlson (he/him) – Contra Costa County Supervisor, District 4, CA
Emma Pinter (she/her) – Adams County Commission, District 3, at-large, CO
Justin Chenette (he/him) – York County Commission, District 3, ME
Kris Fair (he/him) – Maryland House of Delegates, District 3, MD
Jennifer Cornell (she/her) – Ann Arbor City Council, Ward 5, MI
Darlene Martinez (she/her) – Constable, El Centro – Downtown Phoenix, AZ
Brian Garcia (he/him) – Arizona House of Representatives, District 8
Christian Phelps (he/him) – Wisconsin State Assembly, District 93
Jack Patrick Lewis (he/him) – Mass. House of Representatives, 7th Middlesex
Will Brownsberger (he/him) – Massachusetts State Senate, Suffolk and Middlesex
Julian Cyr (he/him) – Massachusetts State Senate, Cape & Islands District
CM Hall (she/they) – Newport City Council, OR
Jimmy Mack (he/him) – Southampton Town Trustee, NY
Michael Vargas (he/him) – Elk Grove USD Board of Education, Area 2, CA
Lisa Grafstein (she/her) – North Carolina State Senate
Hector Bustos (he/him) –Trustee, Santa Ana Unified School District, CA
New Endorsed Candidates January 2026
Kirk McPike (he/him) – Virginia House of Delegates, District 5
Winn Decker (he/him) – North Carolina House of Representatives, District 37
Jonathan Lambert-Melton (he/him) – Wake Co. Board of Commissioners, At-Large, NC
Karen Stegman (she/her) – Orange County Board of Commissioners, At-Large, NC
Landon Campbell (he/him) – Hays County Criminal District Attorney, TX
Christine Castillo (she/her) – Bexar County District Clerk, TX
Nicholas “Nico” Costilla (he/him) – Hays County Clerk, TX
Davis Mendoza Darusman (he/him) – Harris Co. Justice of the Peace, Pct. 5, Pl. 2, TX
Nicholas Palmer (he/him) – Justice, Fifth Court of Appeals, TX
José “Che-Che” Wilson (he/him) – Cook County Board of Commissioners, District 12, IL
Sarah Bury (she/her) – Metropolitan Water Reclamation Dist. Board of Commissioners, IL
Find a searchable database of all endorsed candidates on the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund website. For interviews and additional background on LGBTQ+ candidates running nationwide, contact press@victoryfund.org.
