Washington, DC – Today LGBTQ Victory Fund, the only national organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ leaders to public office, endorsed 37 more out LGBTQ candidates. Victory Fund has now endorsed 274 candidates running in the 2022 midterms.
Candidates endorsed today include Jamie McLeod-Skinner, who is running for the U.S. House in Oregon and would become the first out LGBTQ person ever elected to Congress from Oregon. She was given Game Changer candidate status.
Candidates given Spotlight status include Ben Chou who is running for Harris County Commission, Izzy Smith-Wade-El who is running for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, LaWana Slack-Mayfield who is running for Charlotte City Council, Leigh Finke who is running for Minnesota House of Representatives, Liz Bennett who is running for the Iowa state Senate and Zelos Marchandt who is running for the Oregon House of Representatives. If elected, Marchandt would be the first out trans man elected to a state legislature in U.S. history.
Mayor Annise Parker, President & CEO of LGBTQ Victory Fund, released the following statement about the endorsements:
“In every corner of our country, LGBTQ leaders and community organizers are running to stand up for our community and enact good public policy grounded in equity and acceptance. We are proud to endorse these exceptional candidates who have answered the call to service, despite the barrage of anti-LGBTQ attacks. Their strength and resilience are already changing hearts and minds in communities across the country – we see it every day. This November will be one of the most high-stakes elections for the LGBTQ community. It’s time for us to solidify our political power, make our voices heard and shatter expectations.”
The complete list of candidate endorsements announced today is below:
Game Changer Endorsements
Jamie McLeod-Skinner (she/her)
U.S. House of Representatives, OR-05
Primary: 5/17/2022
General: 11/8/2022
Spotlight Endorsements
Ben Chou (he/him)
Harris County Commission, Precinct 4, TX
Runoff: 5/24/2022
General: 11/8/2022
Izzy Smith-Wade-El (he/him)
Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 50
Primary: 5/17/2022
General: 11/8/2022
LaWana Slack-Mayfield (she/her)
Charlotte City Council, At-Large, NC
Primary: 5/17/2022
General: 7/26/2022
Leigh Finke (she/her)
Minnesota House of Representatives, District 66A
Primary: 8/9/2022
General: 11/8/2022
Liz Bennett (she/her)
Iowa State Senate, District 39
Primary: 6/7/2022
General: 11/8/2022
Zelos Marchandt (he/they)
Oregon House of Representatives, District 35
Primary: 5/17/2022
General: 11/8/2022
General Candidates
Allen Jones (he/him)
Athens-Clarke County Commission, District 7, GA
General: 5/24/2022
Alton Wang (he/him)
Pasadena City College Board of Trustees, Area 7, CA
General: 6/7/2022
Andy Nelson (he/him)
Montana House of Representatives, District 98
Primary: 6/7/2022
General: 11/8/2022
Anthony Vega (he/him)
Lake County Clerk, IL
Primary: 6/28/2022
General: 11/8/2022
Austin Frerick (he/him)
Iowa State Senate, District 37
Primary: 6/7/2022
General: 11/8/2022
Beach Pace (she/they)
Washington County Commissioner, At-Large (Chair), OR
Primary: 5/17/2022
General: 11/8/2022
Cole Buerger (he/him)
Colorado House of Representatives, District 57
Primary: 6/28/2022
General: 11/8/2022
Imani Barnes (she/her)
Georgia House of Representatives, District 86
Primary: 5/24/2022
General: 11/8/2022
Jason Lyon (he/him)
Pasadena City Council, District 7, CA
Primary: 6/7/2022
General: 11/8/2022
John Ehrlich (he/him)
Illinois Appellate Court, District 1
Primary: 6/28/2022
General: 11/8/2022
Josh Noblitt (he/him)
Georgia House of Representatives, District 62
Primary: 5/24/2022
Runoff: 6/21/2022
Justin Chenette (he/him)
York County Commission, District 3, ME
Primary: 6/14/2022
General: 11/8/2022
Kameron Nelson (he/him)
South Dakota House of Representatives, District 10
Primary: 6/7/2022
General: 11/8/2022
Kristin Savage (she/her)
Mount Holly Township Council, NJ
Primary: 6/7/2022
General: 11/8/2022
Nate Pelczar (he/him)
Sacramento City Council, District 1, CA
Primary: 6/7/2022
General: 11/8/2022
Nnedi Stephens (they/them)
Nevada State Senate, District 13
Primary: 6/14/2022
General: 11/8/2022
Rashaun Kemp (he/him)
Georgia House of Representatives, District 61
Primary: 5/24/2022
General: 11/8/2022
Rebecca Kaplan (she/they)
Alameda County Supervisor, District 3, CA
Primary: 6/7/2022
General: 11/8/2022
Ruby Dickson (she/her)
Colorado House of Representatives, District 37
Primary: 6/28/2022
General: 11/8/2022
Salah Czapary (he/him)
DC Council, Ward 1
Primary: 6/21/2022
General: 11/8/2022
Sergio Mojica (he/him)
Illinois House of Representatives, District 13
Primary: 6/28/2022
General: 11/8/2022
Summer Campbell (she/her)
Pulaski County Quorum Court, District 2, AR
Primary Election: 5/24/2022
General Election: 11/8/2022
Tony Simone (he/him)
New York State Assembly, District 75
Primary: 6/28/2022
General: 11/8/2022
V Fixmer-Oraiz (they/them)
Johnson County Board of Supervisors, At-Large, IA
Primary: 6/7/2022
General: 11/8/2022
Zachary Parker (he/him)
DC Council, Ward 5
Primary: 6/21/2022
General: 11/8/2022
General Incumbent Candidates
Brad Hoylman (he/him)
New York State Senate, District 30
Primary: 6/28/2022
General: 11/8/2022
Denise Davis (she/her)
Redlands City Council, District 1
General: 11/8/2022
Gerri Cannon (she/her)
New Hampshire House of Representatives, Strafford-18
Primary: 9/13/2022
General: 11/8/2022
Sarah Peake (she/her)
Massachusetts House of Representatives, 4th-Barnstable
Primary: 9/6/2022
General: 11/8/2022
Susan Ruiz (she/her)
Kansas House of Representatives, District 23
General: 11/8/2022
Torrey Harris (he/him)
Tennessee House of Representatives, District 91
Primary: 5/3/2022
General: 11/8/2022
More information about all of Victory Fund’s endorsed candidates is available at victoryfund.org/ourcandidates.
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LGBTQ Victory Fund
LGBTQ Victory Fund works to achieve and sustain equality by increasing the number of openly 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 openly LGBTQ candidates win local, state and federal elections.
