What Midterm Election Results Spell for LGBTQ+ Rights So Far – Them

If you’re anything like us, you’ve been dreading the midterm elections. Dissatisfaction with the Democratic party has increased steadily in the past two years, with more centrist voters arguing that the party has gone “too extreme,” and more left voters frustrated that the party refuses to go far enough. In light of that, there was much talk of a “red wave,” in which Republican candidates anticipated sweeping elections nationwide and taking back control of Congress.

But as TIME Magazine eloquently phrased it, the so-called “red wave” was more of a pink splash. For those of us who are slight election doomers, the Democrats’ relative success nationwide came as a pleasant surprise. Despite non-stop ableism against him, Pennsylvania Lt. Gov John Fetterman won his Senate race, flipping that seat from red to blue and beating the Trump-backed conspiracy theorist Dr. Oz. LGBTQ+ candidates also won big last night, leading to a number of crucial re-elections and many historic firsts, including our first lesbian governor, the first trans man to serve on a state legislature, and several LGBTQ+ people elected to Congress for the first time in their respective states.

But of course, the Republicans also won big in ways that were mostly expected but still devastating. QAnon conspiracist Marjorie Taylor-Greene — who is known for saying some truly wacky and hurtful stuff — was re-elected, as was Texas governor Greg Abbott and Florida governor Ron DeSantis. Additionally, former Trump press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was elected for governor of Arkansas, and Hillbilly Elegy author and notorious flip-flopper J.D. Vance will represent Ohio in the Senate.

Although Democrats have far from swept the races, the jury is still, at the time of writing, out on which parties will ultimately control the House and Senate. Still, a good chunk of the most crucial anti-LGBTQ+ candidates to beat were indeed defeated. Last month, we worked with Agenda PAC to highlight some of the most crucial races for preserving LGBTQ+ rights; races in which LGBTQ+ allies were running against candidates with anti-LGBTQ+ records— and had a significant chance of winning. Read on to see how those races have shaken out as of Wednesday morning, and what’s at stake.