These 10 LGBTQ+ Candidates Are Running Key Races in the November 2022 Midterms – Them

Your ballot is about to be very queer. 

Looking to fight back against an onslaught of anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced in statehouses across the United States, a number of queer and trans candidates are seeking statewide political office in November. If elected, they would join the record number of out LGBTQ+ officials in the U.S., which now stands at over 1,000, the highest number in the country’s history. 

While every winner contributes to that tally, some candidates could have an especially powerful impact. In some states, an out LGBTQ+ legislator could be a historic first. In others, an out representative could shift narrow legislative margins, allowing for new possibilities when it comes to workers’ rights, reproductive rights, and more. To that end, we asked The Victory Fund, an organization that works to elect LGBTQ+ candidates in races across the country, to help Them compile a list of 10 key campaigns to watch, where an out queer or trans candidate could make a significant difference for a state’s queer community. 

Kristin Alfheim and Jessica Katzenmeyer (Wisconsin State Senate)

Wisconsin has a so-so record when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights according to the LGBTQ+ think tank Movement Advancement Project. While it has fairly decent protections for queer people under the law, it lacks many protections for trans people. 

Earlier this year, Wisconsin’s state legislature failed to pass a proposed bill that would have limited trans youth from accessing gender-affirming care in the state, but that doesn’t mean that such a bill won’t rear its ugly head again sometime soon. In fact, the bill mostly failed to advance because the legislature, which is controlled by Republicans, was busy passing voting and election-related bills, according to the Wisconsin Examiner. The election of two out candidates, Kristin Alfheim and Jessica Katzenmeyer, could help safeguard LGBTQ+ rights for queer and trans people statewide.