6 LGBTQ+ people in politics who have made history this year
There are over 450 LGBTQ+ candidates running in the 2022 midterm elections, according to Victory Fund. Some have already made history.
Emily Eizen
- There are over 450 LGBTQ+ candidates running in the 2022 midterm elections, per Victory Fund.
- Maebe A. Girl is the first trans nonbinary person to advance to a general election for a House seat.
- Two openly LGBTQ+ congressional candidates are running against each other for the first time.
Atlanta City Council
Bakhtiari, who uses both "they" and "she" pronouns, is also the first nonbinary person to hold elected office in the city of Atlanta. In September 2022, she announced that she is nonmonogomous and in a relationship with two partners in an interview with NBC News.
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
Before she fielded questions from reporters on her first day, Jean-Pierre acknowledged the historic nature of her position and credited "generations of barrier-breaking people" that she said paved the way for her, Insider's Nicole Gaudiano and Oma Seddiq reported.
"I am obviously acutely aware that my presence at this podium represents a few firsts. I am a Black, gay, immigrant woman, the first of all three of those to hold this position," she said. "If it were not for generations of barrier-breaking people before me, I would not be here. But I benefit from their sacrifices. I have learned from their excellence, and I am forever grateful to them."
Emily Eizen
Girl, who uses both "she" and "they" pronouns, is running to represent California's 30th District. She told the Los Angeles Times that "there's a lot of crossover" between doing drag and campaigning.
"When I do drag, I host a lot of shows," they said. "I'm on the mic, listening to people, engaging with people. It's really not very dissimilar from being in a political setting where I'm giving a campaign speech. I used every drag show that I'm in to speak about politics and speak about my policies and let folks know about our campaigns. It's actually been a really wonderful tool."
Jessica Katzenmeyer
Katzenmeyer is running to represent District 5 in Wisconsin. If she wins in November, she will be the state's first out transgender state senator.
"Representation matters because having a body of government represented by a diverse population will bring new ideas to the table," Katzenmeyer told Insider. "Being trans is a big part of my identity, but people should vote for me because they know that I'll fight for them."
Jared Siskin/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images ; George Santos For Congress
Democrat Robert Zimmerman and Republican George Santos, both openly gay, are facing off in November in a bid to represent New York's 3rd congressional district. The nature of the election itself is already historic, and whoever wins will become the first openly LGBTQ+ person to represent the New York district, The Hill reported.