Washington, DC – Today LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, the only national organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ+ leaders to public office, released its 2023 Out on the Trail report, the only annual report on the number and diversity of LGBTQ+ candidates who ran for office in 2023. At least 514 out LGBTQ+ people ran or are running for offices with elections in 2023, a 19.5 percent increase compared to the last odd-numbered election cycle in 2021, when 430 out candidates ran, and a 34.6 percent increase from 2019, when 382 ran. Of the 514 candidates, 312 will be on the ballot in November, a 31.6 percent increase from 2021.
The full report, including all key findings and detailed demographic data and trends, is available at victoryfund.org/out-on-the-trail-2023.
Mayor Annise Parker, President & CEO of LGBTQ Victory Fund, released the following statement:
“As politicians in state legislatures and on school boards levied unprecedented attacks on our community and our kids, LGBTQ+ leaders responded, running for office in record numbers. We saw more LGBTQ+ candidates of color, trans candidates, nonbinary candidates and bisexual candidates than in any other election year. And in November, voters in 41 states and the District of Columbia can reject the politics of hate and instead mark their ballot for an LGBTQ+ candidate.”
Among the findings:
- LGBTQ+ candidates ran or are running in 41 states and the District of Columbia;
- The number of genderqueer and nonbinary candidates has grown dramatically – from five in 2019 to 37 in 2023;
- The number of out LGBTQ+ state legislative candidates more than doubled between 2021 and 2023 (from 19 to 40);
- Bisexual candidates more than tripled from 2019 to 2023 (from 24 to 74) and increased by 76.2 percent compared to 2021.
The full Out on the Trail 2023 Report can be viewed at victoryfund.org/out-on-the-trail-2023
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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.