Queer Women Won and Many Made History This Election. Here’s Who They Are

Herstory was definitely made on Tuesday in the midterm elections. Not only did Democratic candidates sweep races from coast to coast, flipping long-held Republican seats like in Texas and South Carolina, but many LGBTQ+ candidates also beat out their opponents. With less than a handful of races left to call, Democrats took control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

It’s also the first time that over 100 Democratic women are expected to serve in the U.S. House.

“Women have borne the brunt of the Trump administration’s recklessness and Republicans’ extremist agenda, and on Tuesday they made it clear they have had enough,” said U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez of New Mexico, who is chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, in a statement on Wednesday.

“Women made history because we showed up to vote,” she said.

LGBTQ+ advocates pointed to the historic gains of queer candidates, including Kim Ahern as Rhode Island’s first out statewide elected official and U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas being elected as the first out gay man in the Senate.

“Tuesday’s blue wave carried out LGBTQ+ leaders to victory in every part of the country and at nearly every level of government. Opponents spent this cycle trying to turn our community into a wedge. Voters rejected that,” Evan Law, president and CEO of the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund said in a statement. “We still have a long way to go. Before this election, LGBTQ+ people held just 0.26 percent of elected positions, while 9.3 percent of U.S. adults identify as LGBTQ+. Even with this historic class, there will be two out senators, where equity would mean nine. Our job now is to build on this bench so the next wave of history-makers is ready.”

Here are the queer women who won in Tuesday’s midterms in races that have been called.

Governors and statewide offices

• Democrat Maura Healey was reelected as governor of Massachusetts. She defeated Republican Mike Minogue to win a second term. She and Tina Kotek were the first lesbian governors in US history, having been elected the same year.
• Democrat Tina Kotek was reelected as governor of Oregon. She beat Republican Christine Drazan in a 2022 rematch. She and Maura Healey were the first lesbian governors in US history, having been elected the same year.
• Kim Ahern, a lesbian from Rhode Island, was elected attorney general of the state. She’s Rhode Island’s first out LGBTQ+ statewide elected official.

U.S. House

• History maker U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride, a Democrat from Delaware, made history as the country’s first transgender member of Congress. She has also become the first trans member to be re-elected to Congress.
• Queer lawmaker U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, who made history as one of the first Indigenous women to be elected to Congress and the first LGBTQ+ Native American in Congress, won re-election. She is also the first queer federal representative from Kansas.
• Vermont lesbian U.S. Rep. Becca Balint defeated Republican Gerald Malloy for a third term. Balint is the first queer lawmaker to represent Vermont in Congress.
• U.S. Rep. Emily Randall, a Washington state Democrat, defeated Republican Teresa Fox for a second term in Congress. Randall made history as the first queer Latine woman to be elected to the body.
• Bisexual Democrat Marni von Wilpert of California flipped a seat by defeating Republican Jim Desmond.
• Lesbian veteran Cait Conley, a Democrat, flipped a New York congressional seat held by incumbent U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler.
• The out Marine veteran JoAnna Mendoza, a Democrat, flipped an Arizona congressional seat by defeating U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani.
• Lesbian Janelle Sarauw was elected to be the next U.S. Virgin Islands delegate. She is the first out delegate from the islands to serve as their delegate in Congress.

State legislatures and local

• Jaelynn Scott, a Democrat, will be the first out Black trans woman in any state legislature and Washington’s first trans lawmaker.
• Bi trans woman Zooey Zephyr, who stood up for trans rights in her state’s legislature, was re-elected to the Montana House.
• Minnesota’s state Rep. Leigh Finke, Minnesota’s first out transgender legislator, beat out Republican Mark Born to serve a third term.
• Democrat Allison Montgomery, who is a trans woman, unseated Republican Phillip Rigsby, becoming Alabama’s first out trans state lawmaker.
• Joanna Whaley will be the first openly trans member of the Michigan House.
• Lesbian Texas state Rep. Ann Johnson defeated Republican Mike Michna for a fourth term.
• Bi state Rep. Jessica Benham, a Democrat, defeated Republican Timothy McCune for a fourth term.
• In Delaware, lesbian state Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall won a second term over Republican Mike Simpler.
• Democrat Illinois state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, a lesbian, won her seat again.
• Lesbian Maggie Trevor, a Democrat, won re-election to serve on the Cook County Board.
• Maryland’s Christa Tichy, a queer Democrat, was elected to the state’s House of Delegates.
• Trans woman Quinnie Pérez became the first trans woman elected to public office in Florida on the Orange County Soil and Water Conservation District Board.