The next Congress will seat at least 16 out LGBTQ+ lawmakers, by Gayety’s count of LGBTQ members of Congress 2027 as of Friday, Nov. 6, after The Associated Press called House races for Scott Wiener in San Francisco and Cait Conley in New York. The count includes only races the AP has called, plus Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who wasn’t on the ballot, and only people who’ve described themselves as LGBTQ+ in their own public words.
GLAAD’s post-election release Wednesday credited voters with “electing historic LGBTQ candidates to create the queerest Congress in history.” The current Congress has “a record 14 openly LGBTQ Members of Congress,” Equality PAC said in August, and Democrats will control both chambers, the AP reported. (Gayety broke down what that majority could do for the Equality Act.)
Chris Pappas Gives Tammy Baldwin Company in the Senate
Rep. Chris Pappas beat former Sen. John E. Sununu in New Hampshire for retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s seat, the AP reported, making him the first out gay man elected to the Senate. “I was blessed to become the first LGBT member of Congress from New Hampshire,” Pappas told WBUR in 2020.
Baldwin, of Wisconsin, won a third term in 2024. Her official biography calls her “the first openly gay member elected to the U.S. Senate.”
Moss, Ford and von Wilpert Win Their First House Races
The AP declared state Sen. Jeremy Moss the winner in Michigan’s 11th District at 9:23 p.m. Tuesday, MLive reported, over Troy Mayor Ethan Baker, a Republican, according to WXYZ. “It was disruptive when I ran to be the first out gay member of the Michigan Senate, but as a result, we enshrined LGBTQ protections in our state civil rights law,” Moss said when he launched his campaign, the Michigan Advance reported.
J.D. Ford unseated three-term Rep. Victoria Spartz in Indiana’s 5th District, according to the AP. “I think it’s really time for us LGBTQ+ Hoosiers to have a voice in our General Assembly,” Ford said in 2018, the year he won a seat in the Indiana Senate, KSHB reported.
San Diego City Council member Marni von Wilpert won California’s 48th District, the AP declared at 8:32 p.m. EST Wednesday. “When the reporter asked me, ‘Are you a member of the LGBTQ community?’ I didn’t want to hide it,” she told KPBS in 2023.
Wiener and Conley Make It 16, but Mendoza Isn’t Counted
The AP called California’s 11th District for state Sen. Scott Wiener on Friday morning, two days after Supervisor Connie Chan, a fellow Democrat, conceded, KTVU reported. “I congratulate Scott Wiener on his election and wish him success in serving San Francisco,” Chan said.
“I’m gonna be the first ever LGBTQ person to represent San Francisco in Congress,” Wiener told supporters Tuesday night, KALW reported.
Rep. Mike Lawler conceded New York’s 17th District to Democrat Cait Conley Tuesday night, The Journal News reported, and the AP called the race for her Thursday evening. “I still remember what it was like serving as a lesbian in the military,” Conley wrote on X in July.
A Conley win “would put an LGBTQ+ combat veteran in Congress,” the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund had said in an Oct. 27 release. “This was a patriotic fight,” she said, WAMC reported.
Arizona’s 6th District went to Democrat JoAnna Mendoza, a retired Marine drill instructor, when the AP declared her the winner at 2:38 p.m. EST Thursday over Rep. Juan Ciscomani. The same Victory Fund release said her win “would add an out LGBTQ+ woman veteran to Congress.” Gayety hasn’t found Mendoza describing her sexual orientation in her own words, so she isn’t in the count. “For those of you who did not vote for me, it does not matter, because I will represent you in Congress,” she said on election night, KOLD reported.
LGBTQ Members of Congress 2027 Who Won Reelection
The AP called Rep. Sarah McBride’s Delaware race at 8:50 p.m. Tuesday, WHYY reported. “My name is Sarah McBride, and I am a transgender American,” she said in her 2016 Democratic convention remarks. She later became the first openly transgender person elected to Congress, WHYY noted. “That is the Delaware that I know,” she said Tuesday night.
Rep. Robert Garcia won a new term in California’s 42nd District, per the AP. “As the first LGBTQ+ immigrant elected to Congress, I carry that responsibility every single day,” he said in a June Pride statement from the Congressional Equality Caucus.
In California’s 39th District, the AP called the race for Rep. Mark Takano, who chairs that caucus, WTOP reported. “In 2012, Mark became the first openly gay person of color to be elected to Congress,” his official biography says.
The Bronx’s Rep. Ritchie Torres won again in New York’s 15th District, the AP reported. “Now, as the first openly LGBTQ+ Afro-Latino Member of Congress, I feel the weight of history on my shoulders,” Torres said in the caucus statement.
Rep. Becca Balint kept Vermont’s only House seat, per the AP. “As the first openly queer Vermonter in Congress, I will continue to bring both joy and ferocity to my work defending the rights of the LGBTQ+ community,” she said in June.
The AP called Illinois’ 17th District for Rep. Eric Sorensen Tuesday night, KWQC reported. “As the first openly LGBTQ+ member of Congress from Illinois, I know how important representation and visibility can be for people who just want to feel seen, valued, and safe,” he said in the caucus statement.
Rep. Emily Randall, who described herself in that June statement as Congress’s first openly queer Latina, won a second term in Washington’s 6th District, per the AP.
“I can represent the third district in Kansas and the United States house and also be turned away because I’m out and I’m part of the LGBTQ+ community,” Kansas Rep. Sharice Davids told KSHB in 2021. She won her 3rd District race Tuesday, the AP’s call on WTOP shows.
Rep. Mark Pocan, an Equality Caucus co-chair, ran unopposed in Wisconsin’s 2nd District, and the AP results on PBS mark him reelected. “I introduced him to my husband,” he told RealClearPolitics in a 2013 interview posted on his House site, describing his swearing-in with then-Speaker John Boehner.
Everton Blair, Angie Craig and Julie Johnson Leave in January
Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig, an Equality Caucus co-chair who called herself “the first openly LGBTQ mom in Congress” in a 2021 statement, lost the August Democratic primary for the state’s open Senate seat to Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, Valley News Live reported. “I just called the Lt. Governor to congratulate her on her hard-fought victory and to offer her my full and complete support going forward,” Craig said that night. Flanagan won the seat Tuesday, and the AP called Craig’s 2nd District for another Democrat, PBS results show.
Texas Rep. Julie Johnson, another co-chair, lost the May Democratic primary in the 33rd District, where Victory Fund had endorsed her, to former Rep. Colin Allred, the AP reported. “As a member of the Congressional Equality Caucus, I will never back down from this fight,” she said in the caucus’s June statement.
Rep. Everton Blair of Georgia, whose August special-election win made the current total 14, holds the late Rep. David Scott’s seat only until Jan. 3, 2027, and didn’t run for a full term, according to Equality PAC. “This is a historic election for Georgia, the South, and our entire country,” the PAC said then.
