In 2019, Project LPAC released research showing that LGBTQ women were among the most Democratic-leaning…
Inspiring LGBTQ Women In Politics
BLFF Team
| Jun 30, 2022
Happy Pride Month from Gender on the Ballot! This election cycle, a record number of LGBTQ candidates are running for U.S. Congress. This is coming on the heels of a record number of LGBTQ people appointed to the Biden administration. As a potential increase for LGBTQ political representation looms, and we mark the end of Pride 2022, check out nine LGBTQ women serving today. And if you want to read more, catch up on our posts about LGBTQ trailblazers in politics and Melissa Sullivan’s coverage of a number of openly LGBTQ elected officials who are openly serving.
Senator Tammy Baldwin is the first openly LGBTQ Senator. Senator Baldwin was first elected to the Senate in January 2013. Senator Baldwin is also the first woman to be elected to either chamber of Congress in Wisconsin.
Governor Kate Brown is the first openly LGBTQ Governor in the country, serving as the 38th governor of Oregon. Governor Brown became the first openly LGBT person elected secretary of state of a state in the U.S. in 2008. Governor Brown also served three terms as a state representative, three terms as a state senator, and three terms as majority leader of the Oregon Senate.
Congresswoman Sharice Davids is the first openly LGBTQ Native American Congresswoman, first elected to represent Kansas’s 3rd congressional district in 2018. Congresswoman Davids is also one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress, and the first Democrat to represent a Kansas congressional district in a decade.
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey is the first openly LGBTQ state Attorney General. Prior to becoming Attorney General, Healey served as the Chief of the Civil Rights Division of Massachusetts. Attorney General Healey is currently running for Governor of Massachusetts.
Karine Jean-Pierre is the first Black and LGBTQ person to serve as the White House Press Secretary. Jean-Pierre was appointed to the position in May 2022. Jean-Pierre was previously a political analyst for NBC News and MSNBC, as well as a lecturer at Columbia University.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot is the first openly Black LGBTQ Mayor of a major U.S. City. Mayor Lightfoot is the 56th mayor of Chicago, and the second female and third African-American mayor of the city. Before serving as mayor, Lightfoot was a partner at the law firm Mayer Brown, and held multiple government positions in Chicago.
Delegate Danica Roem is the first openly transgender member of the state legislature in Virginia. Delegate Roem was also the first out transgender person to be elected and serve in any U.S. state legislature. Prior to her career in politics, Delegate Roem was a journalist for ten and half years, writing for the Gainsville Times and Prince William Times, and acting as an editor at the Montgomery County Sentinel.
Senator Krysten Sinema of Arizona is the first openly bisexual U.S. Senator, and the second openly LGBTQ woman to be elected to both the House of Representatives and the Senate (after Tammy Baldwin). Senator Sinema was also the first woman in Arizona elected to Senate.
Justice Mary Yu is the first openly LGBTQ member of the Washington State Supreme Court. Justice Yu was first appointed to the Washington Supreme Court on May 16, 2014 and was elected to the court in 2014 and 2016, respectively. Justice Yu joined the state’s Supreme Court after an accomplished career as a trial court judge in the King County Superior Court.
