Pennsylvania Doubles Its LGBTQ State Legislators:
Elects First LGBTQ Person of Color to State Legislature
Washington, DC – Tonight Pennsylvania voters doubled its number of LGBTQ state legislators by electing Malcolm Kenyatta and reelecting state Rep. Brian Sims. Kenyatta will become the first openly LGBTQ person of color to ever serve in the state legislature. Victory Fund made Kenyatta a “Spotlight” candidate, directly contributed $5000 to his campaign, and raised more than $3300 to elect him.
“The rainbow wave did not skip Pennsylvania on Election Night, with voters doubling the number of openly LGBTQ state legislators who can fight for equality in the Pennsylvania state House,” said Mayor Annise Parker, President & CEO of LGBTQ Victory Fund. “Rep. Brian Sims has been the sole voice for our community in the legislature, facing down one of the most homophobic lawmakers in the country and fending off legislative attacks on our community. To have Malcolm join him will certainly be welcome, because we know that when more openly LGBTQ candidates are in the halls of power, it leads to more inclusive debates and legislation.”
During the last legislative session, Rep. Sims faced personal attacks from state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, who is among the most anti-LGBTQ state legislators in the entire nation. Openly LGBTQ candidate Dan Smith, a Democrat, ran against Metcalfe in his extremely conservative district, but was unsuccessful tonight.
Live Election Night Results: Victory Fund is live-tracking the election results for 225 of its openly LGBTQ endorsed candidates. The latest updates can be found at victoryfund.org/results2018.
Rainbow Wave by the Numbers: LGBTQ Victory Fund released several reports on the unprecedented Rainbow Wave of openly LGBTQ candidates who ran for office during the 2018 election cycle, including one reporting on the total number of candidates who ran, another looking at the total number of candidates by state, and one analyzing Congressional and gubernatorial nominees.
