The 2018 midterm elections were filled with some fantastic LGBTQ+ candidates and ballot questions surrounding LGBTQ+ rights. And like anything very queer, we’ve all been on the edge of our seats waiting for the results. Equally Wed has you covered with all the LGBTQ+ news you may have missed from the midterms.
Jared Polis is the first openly gay governor in the United States
Jared Polis made history ten years ago as the first openly gay man to win a congressional seat, and now he’s also this country’s first openly gay governor. He was elected after five terms and is also Colorado’s first Jewish governor.
Massachusetts upheld trans and intersex rights
In Massachusetts, voters passed Question 3 on the ballot, voting to keep laws that protect transgender and intersex people’s rights in public spaces. The law allows people to use restrooms, locker rooms and similar facilities that correspond with the gender they identify with, rather than their assigned sex at birth.
Betsy Driver is the first intersex mayor of a United States city
Betsy Driver became the mayor of Flemington, New Jersey, beating Republican incumbent Phil Greiner.
Kate Brown was re-elected as the governor of Oregon
Openly bisexual Kate Brown became the first openly LGBTQ+ person elected governor of an American state in 2016 and was re-elected as governor.
Florida elected several LGBTQ+ firsts
Teri Johnson became Key West’s first lesbian mayor, and Jennifer Webb will become the first LGBTQ+ woman to serve in state legislature. Unfortunately, Florida congressional candidate Lauren Baer—who would have been the state’s first LGBTQ+ representative in Congress—lost her bid.
Kentucky clerk Kim Davis was voted out
Kim Davis, well known for refusing a marriage license to a gay couple in 2015, was replaced by Democrat Elwood Caudill.
Megan Hunt is Nebraska’s first openly LGBTQ+ person in state legislature
Nebraska was one of seven states in the United States that had never elected an openly LGBTQ+ state legislator, but that changed with Megan Hunt, Nebraska’s new openly bisexual senator.
JD Ford is Indiana’s first openly gay state lawmaker
J.D. Ford defeated State Senator Mike Delph to become the state’s first openly gay lawmaker.
Sharice Davids is Kansas’s first openly LGBTQ+ Native American state senator
Sharice Davids, elected to the U.S. Congress, became Kansas’s first openly LGBTQ+ state senator. Davids is also one of two of the first Native American women elected to Congress along with Deb Haaland. Kansas also appointed two openly gay candidates to the Kansas House of Representatives, Susan Ruiz and Brandon Woodward.
Out lesbian Julie Johnson unseated the Republican rep. in Texas House of Representatives
Julie Johnson will now speak for District 115 in the Texas House of Representatives.
Christine Hallquist, the first trans gubernatorial candidate, was defeated in Vermont
Hallquist, a Democrat, lost to incumbent Phil Scott after becoming the first transgender woman in the United States to win the gubernatorial nomination for a major political party.
Tammy Baldwin, America’s first and only openly LGBTQ+ senator, was re-elected
Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin won re-election to U.S. Senate against Republican Leah Vukmir, who was backed by anti-LGBTQ+ hate groups.
Openly gay Pennsylvania state legislator Brian Sims won re-election
Brian Sims was re-elected to the House of Representatives in Pennsylvania over independent James McDevitt.
Gina Ortiz Jones lost the bid to become the first queer Texan elected to Congress
Iraq War veteran Gina Ortiz Jones lost the race for the U.S. House to Republican incumbent Will Hurd.
In Minnesota, Annie Craig defeated a homophobe for Congress
Annie Craig, a lesbian mom with four kids, defeated her Republican opponent for Congress in Minnesota.
For more LGBTQ+ election news, check out Autostraddle and INTO‘s guides and live updates on the candidates, ballot questions and more.
