Colorado's Jared Polis, the first openly gay man elected ernor, addrs 'horrific' shootg at an LGBTQ club

28 Dec 2024

On the East Coast, Wt Coast and heartland stat between them, LGBT ndidat sred a raft of notable midterm electn victori — wng two ernorships, at least ne seats Congrs, and their first-ever legislative seats Indiana, Kansas and Nebraska. The head of the LGBTQ Victory Fund, which recs and assists LGBT ndidat, said many of the wners Tuday's electns were motivated by ncerns over the Tmp admistratn's rollback of protectns for transgenr people. "We've worked hard to achieve the rights we have today," said the fund's CEO, former Hoton Mayor Annise Parker. "But we realize we're still a vulnerable posn many plac." From Parker's perspective, the highlights were many. In Colorado, U.S. Rep. Jared Polis beme the first openly gay man elected as a ernor of any state. In Wisns, Tammy Baldw — who 2012 beme the first openly gay person to w a U.S. Senate seat — easily won re-electn spe beg targeted by outsi nservative groups that spent lns attackg her. In rac for the U.S. hoe, a rerd eight LGBT ndidat won seats for the Democrats. Four cumbents— Mark Takano of California, Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, David Cicille of Rho Island and Mark Pon of Wisns — will be joed January by newers Katie Hill of California, Sharice Davids of Kansas, Angie Craig of Mnota and Chris Pappas of New Hampshire. For two other LGBT ndidat, their rac were too close to ll — U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sema's bid for a U.S. Senate seat Arizona and Ga Ortiz Jon' race for a U.S. Hoe seat Texas. Hill, Davids and Craig were among a batch of Democratic wners who flipped ntrol of GOP-held Hoe seats, overg ial skepticism that LGBT ndidat were not bt-sued for that challenge. "We saw LGBTQ ndidat talk openly about their liv to a gree unseen past electns — and ronated wh voters," Parker said. In Mnota, Craig featured her wife and their sons TV ads en route to wng a rematch agast GOP Rep. Jason Lewis the Tw Ci' suburban 2nd District. "What I say is my wife and I have four sons, jt like any other polician would," Craig said durg the mpaign. "It'd be ol to be the first openly gay member of Congrs om Mnota, but that's not why I'm nng." In Kansas' 3rd District, near Kansas Cy, Davids unseated four-term GOP cumbent Kev Yor. Beg lbian was only one aspect of an eye-tchg bgraphy — she's also Native Amerin, a lawyer, a former Whe Hoe fellow, and a past petor mixed martial arts. "From the begng, this mpaign has been built on brgg new lears to the table, and new voic to the table," she said her victory speech. In New Hampshire, Pappas did not strs his LGBT stat durg the mpaign, but reacted wh passn durg a bate when his GOP rival, Eddie Edwards, qutned why Pappas had been photographed wearg a "Rist" T-shirt. "The photo you are referrg to is a rabow shirt I wore at a gay pri event," Pappas said. "I am proud of who I am and I am proud to stand up agast hate, bigotry and tolerance." In Colorado, which was bet by gay-rights ntroversi the past, Polis' succsful mpaign for ernor was strikg that his LGBT stat never beme a mpaign issue. "We went om a state where our elected officials stggled to provi even basic rights to same-sex upl to a state where a gay man ran for ernor and his sexual orientatn wasn't discsed as a polil liabily," The Denver Post wrote an edorial. Kayla DeShon, an pennt voter om the Denver suburb of Highlands Ranch, said she voted for Polis bee of his stance on health re. "I did not know he is gay. I found out afterward — was an add bon," said DeShon, 29. "And I do thk that don't matter." Polis will jo Oregon's Kate Brown as the only LGBT ernors. Brown, who intifi as bisexual, narrowly won re-electn over Republin Knute Buehler. In state legislative rac, the Victory Fund projects that about 130 LGBT ndidat will w seats — all but two of them Democrats. That would be up om 121 LGBT legislators headg to the electn, acrdg to the fund. Wng a state Senate seat Utah was Derek Kchen, a cy uncilor Salt Lake Cy who rose to promence when his lawsu overturned Utah's ban on gay marriage several years ago. Voters Omaha elected an openly bisexual ndidate, Megan Hunt, to the Nebraska Senate. In New Hampshire, two transgenr women, Gerri Cannon and Lisa Bunker, won seats the state Hoe of Reprentativ. A third transgenr woman, Brianna Tone, was locked a too-close-to-ll race for the Colorado Hoe. Unofficial near-plete returns showed Tone wh a 12-vote lead after more than 47,000 vot were st. Among LGBT victors elsewhere was Dana Nsel, elected as Michigan's attorney general. Nsel ma headl as -unsel the historic lawsu that led to same-sex marriage Michigan. She said the outgog GOP attorney general, Bill Schuette, "ma a mockery of state ernment" by brgg social scientists to urt to nigrate the parentg skills of same-sex upl. "There are LGBTQ people clamorg for reprentatn and tired of the office of attorney general g them as a punchg bag," Nsel said durg the mpaign. In Massachetts, voters soundly feated an attempted repeal of a 2016 state law extendg nondiscrimatn protectns to transgenr people the e of rtrooms and other public acmodatns. The oute was hailed by Parker, who was mayor of Hoton 2015 when a trans-clive civil-rights ordance was repealed a referendum. Opponents of the ordance played upon public fears wh the slogan, "No Men Women's Bathrooms." Parker said Massachetts voters, havg lived wh the state law for two years, didn't buy such rhetoric. "They realized was pletely ane fear," she said. ___ Associated Prs wrer Jam Anrson Denver ntributed to this report. __ Follow David Crary at

CALIFORNIA SCHOOL BOARD ADOPTS SOCIAL STUDI TEXTBOOKS THAT CLU GAY RIGHTS AFTER WARNGS OM ERNOR
GAY GOVERNORS: MRA HEALEY, TA KOTEK, JARED POLIS W
CONSERVATIVE CALIFORNIA SCHOOL BOARD ADOPTS CURRICULUM CLUDG GAY RIGHTS AFTER SPAT WH ERNOR
COLORADO'S JARED POLIS, THE FIRST OPENLY GAY MAN ELECTED ERNOR, ADDRS 'HORRIFIC' SHOOTG AT AN LGBTQ CLUB

CALIFORNIA SCHOOL BOARD ADOPTS SOCIAL STUDI TEXTBOOKS THAT CLU GAY RIGHTS AFTER WARNGS OM ERNOR

A Southern California school board on Friday adopted a social studi curriculum that clus gay rights that was approved by parents and teachers after ially rejectg . * gay governors *

A Southern California school board on Friday adopted a social studi curriculum that clus gay rights that was approved by parents and teachers after ially rejectg . “Unr the headg ‘Protts, ’ one paragraph discs gay rights California and unr the headg ‘Court Cas, ’ there are two paragraphs that discs the urt s that allowed gay marriage California. She said a supplemental rource lists Harvey Milk, a gay rights activist and polician who was assassated 1978, along wh San Francis Mayor Gee Mosne.

GAY GOVERNORS: MRA HEALEY, TA KOTEK, JARED POLIS W

Gov. Gav Newsom is takg on nservative Temecula Valley Unified school officials over textbooks that discs sla gay activist Harvey Milk. * gay governors *

Milk was believed to be the first openly gay person elected to public office California. Gav Newsom and sla gay rights lear Harvey the ne-hour Temecula Valley Unified meetg, which ran past midnight, some parents spoke support of the nservative majory on the school board and s buckg of state standards for clive and diverse pated Newsom — who plans to send textbooks that reference Milk to Temecula stunts fiance of the board — as a “tyrant” who “forc his le” upon a district he knows nothg about. ”The bate arose after the board rejected proposed stctnal material that mentned Milk, a member of the San Francis Board of Supervisors and the first out gay man elected to public office California, who was assassated 1978.

” Conservative school board Print Joseph Komrosky, who lled Milk a “pedophile” and has been publicly fdg wh Newsom over the issue, asked sheriff puti on Tuday to remove a teacher om the meetg after she lled nservative board member Danny Gonzalez a “homophobe. ” Whout evince, Gonzalez said that proposed stctn would promote pedophilia and said he opposed teachg about the gay liberatn movement that began the 1960s bee ’s “not appropriate to discs sexualy. The number of openly gay ernors.

history by electg two openly gay Democrats to lead their stat. woman and the first gay person ever elected Governor of.

CONSERVATIVE CALIFORNIA SCHOOL BOARD ADOPTS CURRICULUM CLUDG GAY RIGHTS AFTER SPAT WH ERNOR

The number of openly gay ernors the Uned Stat went om one to three followg Tuday's midterm electns * gay governors *

Republin Christe Drazan to bee the state's first openly gay. Sign up to our Eveng Headl email for your daily gui to the latt newsSign up to our ee US Eveng Headl emailA nservative California school board stnchly opposed to teachg gay rights s social studi curriculum fally reversed urse after holdg a heated ne-hour bate and publicly fdg wh Democratic Governor Gav Friday, Temecula Valley Unified School District voted to adopt “California’s Cultural Contributns” textbooks, reversg a May vote rejectg the curriculum.

”Much of the district’s ntroversy had centred on Mr Milk, the first known out gay man to hold public office California who was assassated at San Francis Cy Hall 1978. Unr the headg ‘Protts, ’ one paragraph discs gay rights California and unr the headg ‘Court Cas, ’ there are two paragraphs that discs the urt s that allowed gay marriage California. Louisiana lawmakers also attempted to overturn two other ntroversial LGBTQ+ bills that Edwards vetoed; a “ Don’t Say Gay ” bill that broadly bars teachers om discsg genr inty and sexual orientatn public school classrooms; and a measure requirg public school teachers to e the pronouns and nam that align wh what stunts were assigned at birth.

This year alone, more than 525 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were troduced 41 stat, acrdg to data llected by the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights anizatn. Jared Polis, the first openly gay man elected ernor the Uned Stat, on Sunday cried Saturday's “horrific” adly shootg at a Colorado Sprgs LGBTQ nightclub. He first won elected office 2008 and beme, his words, “the first openly gay parent to w a seat Congrs.