Washington, DC – Today LGBTQ Victory Fund, the only national organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ leaders to public office, released Queering Congress 2022: A Report on LGBTQ Congressional Candidates ahead of the first primary elections of the 2022 midterm cycle, which will be held in Texas on March 1. According to this inaugural report, at least 101 people ran or are running for the U.S. Congress – with 96 still actively running as of February 21, 2022. That marks a 16.1 percent increase in LGBTQ Congressional candidates compared to the 2020 election cycle, when 87 people ran.
Among the key findings:
- LGBTQ Congressional candidates are the most racially and ethnically diverse in history, with 41 percent of LGBTQ Congressional candidates identifying as people of color – a growth of 57.7 percent since 2020;
- Latinx LGBTQ Congressional candidates doubled since 2020 (from six to 12) and Black LGBTQ Congressional candidates increased by 89 percent (from nine to 17);
- Trans women and trans men Congressional candidates doubled between 2020 and 2022 (from five to 10) and Congressional candidates who do not identify as cisgender increased by 70 percent (from 10 to 17);
- Bisexual Congressional candidates grew by 38 percent (from eight to 11) and gay men by 45 percent (from 40 to 58);
- 16 of the 96 active LGBTQ candidates are running in competitive districts that will determine control of the U.S. House and three are running U.S. Senate races in key swing states; and
- LGBTQ people are running for Congress in 33 states – less than the 36 states with Congressional candidates in 2020 and 40 states in 2018.
Mayor Annise Parker, President & CEO of LGBTQ Victory Fund, released the following statement about the launch of this inaugural report:
“The Rainbow Wave continues to gain momentum as voters show their enthusiasm and commitment to electing leaders that reflect the diversity of America. The 2022 midterm elections are poised to be a significant step towards equitable representation, with a historic number of out LGBTQ people running for Congress and the most racially and ethnically diverse candidate slate in history. While LGBTQ candidates are significantly more diverse than U.S. candidates overall, we must continue to break down barriers LGBTQ people of color, women and trans people face when running for office.”
Currently there are nine out LGBTQ members of the U.S. House and two out LGBTQ members of the U.S. Senate. To achieve equitable representation*, we must elect an additional 35,000 out LGBTQ people to public office across the country, including an additional five U.S. senators and 22 U.S. representatives.
The entire digital report can be viewed at victoryfund.org/queering-congress-2022.
*LGBTQ people are 7.1 percent of the U.S. population, according to a recent Gallup poll. Equitable representation is achieved when 7.1 percent of elected positions are held by out LGBTQ people.
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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.
