Mixed news today from the Primaries across the country.
Pennsylvania –
US Senate – There was so much news out of Pennsylvania, let’s start there. Current Penn Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman won the Democratic primary for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat, gaining more votes than U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb and State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta. If Kenyatta had taken this win and the one in November, he would have shattered a couple of ceilings, being the first gay and first gay black man in the US Senate. We will still hear more from him as the seat he currently holds in the Pennsylvania House, he currently has no competition from any other democrat or republican.
But don’t fret, John Fetterman is a very strong ally to have as seen in one of our past pieces – Lt. Gov. Fights To Display Rainbow Flag At Penn Capitol.
No More Sims? Our love affair with gay State Rep. Brian Sims will go on, even though he was unable to capture the Democratic nod for Pennsylvania’s Lieutenant Governor. What will happen to his seat as a representative in Pennsylvania? It was hoped to stay rainbow, but Deja Lynn Alvarez, a Latina trans woman, and Jonathan D. Lovitz, a white gay man were unable to keep the seat for the Friends of Dorothy, but at least there is an ally in Benjamin Waxman, and it is believed any democratic candidate would have kept the seat blue in November.
Other Penn Rainbow Candidates – here are other LGBTQ+ candidates in Pennsylvania that did well in their democratic primaries and hope to succeed in November.
- House District 49 – Izzy Smith Wade-El, bi and nonbinary
- House District 36 – Jessica Benham, bisexual
Oregon –
The current Speaker of the House in Oregon has won her bid for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in Oregon. Tina Kotek is poised to become the first lesbian governor of any U.S. state.
Kotek was the first lesbian to be speaker of ANY House of Representatives in the nation. The Governor’s House and position is becoming vacant because Oregon’s Democratic Governor Kate Brown is unable to run again because of term limits. Brown is the nation’s first out bisexual governor. If she wins in November, Kotek would join out gay Colorado Governor Jared Polis as our nation’s LGBTQ+ governors.
Other Oregon Rainbow Candidates – here are other LGBTQ+ candidates in Oregon that did well in their democratic primaries and hope to succeed in November.
- House District 35 – Dacia Grayber, queer woman
- House District 44 – Travis Nelson, gay
- House District 25 – Ben Bowman, gay
- US Congress Seat – Jamie McLeod-Skinner, lesbian, leads incumbent Kurt Schrader as of publication time.
Other Primaries Across the Nation –
LaWana Mayfield succeeded in the primary election for Charlotte City Council. With this victory, she is now on track to become the first out LGBTQ person ever elected citywide in Charlotte, North Carolina. There are currently just six Black out lesbians serving on city councils nationwide.
VictoryFund.org notes that more LGBTQ people are running for Congress in 2022 than ever before.
Related Post: States Where LGBTQ Congressional Candidates are Running (2022)
“At least 101 people ran or are running for the U.S. Senate or U.S. House – with 96 still actively running as of February 21, 2022. That marks a 16.1 percent increase in LGBTQ Congressional candidates compared to the 2020 election cycle, when 87 people ran,” the Fund’s website reads.
For an interesting read about some LGBTQ candidates that are not even going to make it to the primaries, head over to the Washington Blade for their article: Two gay candidates disqualified from D.C. primary ballot
A member of the Capital Stonewall Democrats, D.C.’s largest LGBTQ local political group, mounted a successful challenge before the D.C. Board of Elections earlier this month that resulted in a gay Republican and a gay Libertarian Party activist withdrawing as candidates for public office in the city’s June 21 primary.
Madison Cawthorn –
Oh dear, what do we think about this one?
Cawthorn, who at 26 years old is currently the youngest person in Congress, conceded to state Senator Chuck Edwards on Tuesday. With 95 percent of the votes reported, Edwards leads 33.4 percent compared to Cawthorn’s 31.9, according to The Associated Press. – Newsweek
What lead to the demise of this manchild? Was it his own words? He did call Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky a “thug,” and he oddly claimed fellow lawmakers had invited him to cocaine laced orgies. Or was it his actions where he’s been accused of illegal cryptocurrency insider trading or him trying to take guns through airport security? Or was it those images of him wearing women’s lingerie being leaked to press and a video emerging of the congressman naked in bed thrusting against another male?
The GOP Congressman Responded To The Crotch-Grabbing Video On Instagram
Cawthorn’s Naked Video Took Hump Day To A New Level
We can take your pick as to what lead to his downfall.
A – numero uno – he ain’t going any further. We are all happy about that. I would love to think that it is because of his total stupidity on trying to be a human being, but…
B – on the crappy flip side – what I do not hope is that he was not moved forward in the primaries because he is possibly gay. Yes, many of us have said we don’t want him on our team because of the kind of person he is. And then, of course, some get all thirsty and think he’s hot no matter what molten crap is inside his body. And others think he isn’t gay, but just one of those frat boys that do “no homo bro shit” to be funny. We’ve all seen it, don’t lie. But if he lost because he is one of the gays, then that is somewhat of a loss for us all.
As for the Georgia Witch, Marjorie Taylor Greene, we need to wait until May 24th for that one.
https://twitter.com/Holly_4Congress/status/1526740855364517888
But who may replace Cawthorn? Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara won Tuesday’s District 11 Democratic Primary by earning more than 60% of the votes. She is a Buncombe County commissioner, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, founding executive director of the Campaign for Southern Equality, and is a lesbian.
The Rainbow Surge?
Will we start to see more of a Rainbow Surge in politics? With the new generations whom identify as more Queer than ever gaining the vote and using their voice, will we see more and more candidates being Queer/LGBTQ+ and moving up the ranks in politics?
This is what we need. We need people to put themselves out there to be representatives of the community as a whole and not the select few.
We also need the rest of us to support them and participate. This is PROOF that it is not just about November elections. If candidates do not make it through the primaries, there is no November for them or us. We did not mention all of the LGBTQ+ candidates that did not make it, but there were many.
Did you participate in your primaries? Will you vote in November?
Sources: Advocate , Newsweek , VictoryFund.org