Washington, DC – Today LGBTQ Victory Fund, the only national organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ leaders to public office, endorsed 83 more out LGBTQ candidates. Victory Fund has now endorsed 464 candidates running in the 2022 midterms, the most in the organization’s 31-year history.
Candidates given Spotlight status include Lorena Austin who is running for the Arizona state House, Annie Menz who is running for the Oklahoma state House and Marcia Morgan who is running for the North Carolina state Senate.
Mayor Annise Parker, President & CEO of LGBTQ Victory Fund, released the following statement about the endorsements:
“The stakes of this election could not be higher for the LGBTQ community and our allies, with anti-LGBTQ legislation and attacks on our right to privacy moving through legislatures across the country, including the U.S. Congress. The good news is that with a Rainbow Wave of candidates running like never before, it is also clear the LGBTQ community’s political power is stronger than ever. With just forty days until the midterm election, we must do everything in our power to ensure these highly qualified LGBTQ candidates win on Election Day. This is a moment for action. We are fired up, we are motivated and we are unified.”
The complete list of candidate endorsements announced today is below:
Spotlight Endorsements
Lorena Austin (she/they)
Arizona House of Representatives, District 9
General: 11/8/2022
Annie Menz (she/her)
Oklahoma House of Representatives, District 45
General: 11/8/2022
Marcia Morgan (she/her)
North Carolina State Senate, District 7
General: 11/8/2022
2022 General Candidates
Paloma Aguirre (she/her)
Mayor of Imperial Beach, CA
General: 11/8/2022
Lakeesha Atkinson (she/her)
Portsmouth City Council, VA
General: 11/8/2022
Jeffrey Bernstein (he/him)
Palm Springs City Council, District 2, CA
General: 11/8/2022
Blaizen Bloom (they/them)
Chesapeake Public School Board, VA
General: 11/8/2022
Ryan Braunberger (he/him)
North Dakota State Senate, District 10
General: 11/8/2022
Marcus Brown (he/him)
Connecticut House of Representatives, District 127
General: 11/8/2022
Pedro Chavez (he/him)
Santa Paula City Council, At-Large, CA
General: 11/8/2022
Dennis Dawson (he/him)
Mount Dora City Council, District 3, FL
General: 11/8/2022
Ray Deacon (he/him)
Duval Soil and Water Conservation Board, Group 5, FL
General: 11/8/2022
Ron deHarte (he/him)
Palm Springs City Council, District 3, CA
General: 11/8/2022
Emily Dievendorf (she/her)
Michigan House of Representatives, District 77
General: 11/8/2022
Triston Ezidore (he/him)
Culver City School Board, CA
General: 11/8/2022
Shaun Filiault (he/him)
New Hampshire House of Representatives, Cheshire District 7
General: 11/8/2022
Karl Frisch (he/him)
Virginia House of Delegates, District 35
Primary: 10/1/2022 General: 1/10/2023
R. Fruen (he/him)
Cupertino City Council, CA
General: 11/8/2022
Julianne Gale (she/her)
Washington State Senate, District 35
General: 11/8/2022
Carlos Garcia (he/him)
Palm Desert City Council, District 2, CA
General: 11/8/2022
Nick Gothard (he/him)
Loudoun County School Board, Broad Run District, VA
General: 11/8/2022
Brandon Gray (he/him)
North Carolina House of Representatives, District 62
General: 11/8/2022
Jillian Hanlon (she/her)
Dutchess County Sheriff, NY
General: 11/8/2022
Kerri Evelyn Harris (she/her)
Delaware House of Representatives, District 32
General: 11/8/2022
Sahara Hayes (she/her)
Utah House of Representatives, District 32
General: 11/8/2022
Dana Hilliard (he/him)
New Hampshire Executive Council, District 1
General: 11/8/2022
Kathy Hyzy (she/her)
Milwaukie Mayor, OR
General: 11/8/2022
John Jackson (he/him)
Red Bank Town Council, NJ
General: 11/8/2022
Dominique Johnson (she/they)
Connecticut House of Representatives, District 143
General: 11/8/2022
Stephan Kingsley (he/him)
Tempe Union School District Governing Board, AZ
General: 11/8/2022
Ryan Lalonde (he/him)
Alameda Unified School Board, CA
General: 11/8/2022
Josie Leavitt (she/her)
Vermont House of Representatives, Grand Isle-Chittenden
General: 11/8/2022
Colin Lovett (he/him)
Missouri House of Representatives, District 100
General: 11/8/2022
Kevin Macaulay (he/him)
Marathon City Council, FL
General: 11/8/2022
Kadja Manuel (he/him)
Trenton City Council, At-Large, NJ
General: 11/8/2022
Austin Marsman (he/him)
Allegan County Commission, District 5, MI
General: 11/8/2022
Genece Minshew (she/her)
Fernandina Beach City Commission, Seat 5, FL
General: 11/8/2022
Jimmy Monto (he/him)
Syracuse Common Council, District 5, NY
General: 11/8/2022
Landon Myers (he/him)
Eaton County Commission, District 2, MI
General: 11/8/2022
DeShanna Neal (she/they)
Delaware House of Representatives, 13
General: 11/8/2022
Scott Nevins (he/him)
Palm Springs City Council, District 1, CA
General: 11/8/2022
Jose Orta (he/him)
Williamson County Commission, Precinct 4, TX
General: 11/8/2022
Steve Padilla (he/him)
California State Senate, District 18
General: 11/8/2022
Ashley Peele (she/her)
Charleston County School Board of Trustees, SC
General: 11/8/2022
Jamin Pursell (he/they)
Richmond City Council, District 4, CA
General: 11/8/2022
Sarah Reale (she/her)
Utah State Board of Education, Seat 5
General: 11/8/2022
Lisbeth Melendez Rivera (she/they)
Hyattsville City Council, Ward 2, MD
General: 11/8/2022
James Santana (he/him)
Montebello School Board, CA
General: 11/8/2022
Gregory Sargent (he/him)
New Hampshire House of Representatives, Merrimack 7
General: 11/8/2022
Davin Sokup (he/him)
Northfield City Council, At-Large, MN
General: 11/8/2022
Valarie St. John (she/her)
Grosse Point Board of Education, MI
General: 11/8/2022
Joe Stanieich-Burke (he/him)
New Hampshire House of Representatives, Hillsborough 14
General: 11/8/2022
Maurice Turner (he/him)
Mayor of Highland Park, MI
General: 11/8/2022
Alfred Twu (they/them, any pronouns)
AC Transit Board of Directors, At-Large, CA
General: 11/8/2022
Michael Vargas (he/him)
Elk Grove Unified School District, Area 2, CA
General: 11/8/2022
Julienne Verdi (she/her)
Voorhees School Board, NJ
General: 11/8/2022
Peter Volosin (he/him)
Roanoke City Council, VA
General: 11/8/2022
Jennifer Williams (she/her)
Trenton City Council, North Ward, NJ
General: 11/8/2022
Billie Joe Wright (he/him)
Anaheim Union High School District Board Trustee, Area 1, CA
General: 11/8/2022
Carolyn Wysinger (she/her)
El Cerrito City Council, CA
General: 11/8/2022
Cesar Zepeda (he/him)
Richmond City Council, District 2, CA
General: 11/8/2022
2022 Unopposed Candidates
Hector Bustos (he/him)
Santa Ana Unified School District Trustee, Area 5, CA
General: 11/8/2022
Elisabeth Epps (she/her)
Colorado House of Representatives, District 6
General: 11/8/2022
Sam Montaño (she/they)
Massachusetts House of Representatives, Suffolk 15
General: 11/8/2022
Kathleen Rivers, Ph.D. (she/her)
Cotati City Council, CA
General: 11/8/2022
2023 General Candidates
Timmy Knudsen (he/him)
Chicago Board of Aldermen, Ward 43
General: 2/28/2023 Runoff: 4/4/2023
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.
