Christine Hallquist makes history as the first openly transgender statewide nominee for a major party in history

Last night, Democrats continued a streak of nominating even more LGBTQ candidates to represent them in Congress, statewide offices, and state legislatures across the country than ever before.

In Vermont, Christine Hallquist won the nomination for Governor and is the first openly transgender statewide nominee for a major party in history.

So far this primary season, Democrats have nominated at least:

• 11 LGBTQ people for statewide office

  • This includes 4 for governor (CO, OR, TX and VT), each of whom represents a different segment of the LGBTQ community.

• 13 LGBTQ people for federal office in both houses of Congress

Here’s a snapshot of some of the newly nominated LGBTQ candidates so far this primary season:

LAST NIGHT

MINNESOTA

Angie Craig (MN-02): If elected, Craig will become the first LGBTQ member of Congress from Minnesota. Her opponent, Rep. Jason Lewis recently made news when his comments comparing LGBTQ people to rapists came to light. He has also made anti-woman and racist comments.

VERMONT

Christine Hallquist (Governor): Hallquist is the first openly transgender gubernatorial nominee for any major party in the history of the United States. If elected, Hallquist will become the first openly transgender governor, and the highest ranking transgender elected official in the nation.

PREVIOUS PRIMARIES

ALABAMA

Felicia Stewart (HD-46): If elected, Stewart will become Alabama’s second openly lesbian legislator.

Neil Rafferty (HD-54): If elected, Rafferty will become the only openly gay legislator in Alabama’s House of Representatives and the state’s first openly LGBTQ veteran legislator.

ARKANSAS

Tippi McCullough (HD-33): Facing no Republican opposition in November, McCullough will become the only openly LGBTQ person in the Arkansas state legislature. McCullough’s win comes 5 years after she was forced to resign her teaching job because she was LGBTQ.

CALIFORNIA

Ricardo Lara (CA Insurance Commissioner): If elected, Lara will become California’s first LGBTQ statewide elected official, and the only LGBTQ person of color elected to statewide office in the nation.

Katie Hill (CA-25): If Hill prevails over Republican Steve Knight, she will become California’s first openly LGBTQ congresswoman.

Numerous LGBTQ candidates are poised to make the California state legislature even more diverse including:

• Joy Silver (SD-28)

• Sonia Aery (AD-03)

• Jackie Smith (AD-06)

• Sunday Gover (AD-77)

COLORADO

Jared Polis (Governor): If elected, Polis will become the first openly gay governor elected in the nation.

Alex Valdez (HD- 05): If elected, Valdez will expand the already diverse LGBTQ caucus of the Colorado House of Representatives, adding an important LGBTQ Latinx voice to the table.

Brianna Titone (HD-27): If elected, Titone will become the first openly transgender state legislator in Colorado.

GEORGIA

Matthew Wilson (HD-80): If elected, Wilson will join numerous openly LGBTQ officials pushing back on Georgia Republicans’ anti-LGBTQ legislative agenda. Georgia’s LGBTQ caucus is among the most diverse LGBTQ caucuses in the nation, including:

• Park Cannon (HD-58):  first openly queer woman of color elected in Georgia

• Renitta Shannon (HD-84): first openly bisexual woman of color to serve in Georgia.

• Karla Drennan (HD-85): first openly lesbian member of the Georgia House of Representatives

• Sam Park (HD-101): first openly gay Asian American elected in Georgia and first openly gay man elected to the state legislature

INDIANA

J.D. Ford (SD-29):  If elected, Ford will become the first out member of the Indiana state Senate.

Indiana Democrats have also nominated 3 candidates for the Indiana state House, who would all make history together as the first openly LGBTQ members of the body:

• Thomasina Marsili (HD-46)

• Joe Lannan (HD-63)

• Sarah Stivers (HD-70)

ILLINOIS

Lamont Robinson (HD-05): If elected, Robinson will become the first openly gay African-American state legislator in Illinois history.

Maggie Trevor (HD-54): If elected, Trevor will become the 2nd openly LGBTQ woman in the Illinois General Assembly, joining Kelly Cassidy.

KANSAS

Sharice Davids (KS-03): If elected, Davids will become Kansas’ first openly LGBTQ congresswoman in history. She could also make history as one of the first two  Native American women to be seated in Congress.

MARYLAND

Gabriel Acevero (HD-39): If elected, Acevero will become the first openly gay Afro-Latino elected to the Maryland General Assembly.

Mary Washington (SD-43): If elected, Washington will become the first LGBTQ person of color in the Maryland State Senate.

MICHIGAN

Dana Nessel (MI Attorney General): If elected, Nessel will become Michigan’s first openly LGBTQ statewide elected official and the country’s second LGBTQ Attorney General. Nessel joins Michigan’s first entirely female statewide candidate slate led by gubernatorial nominee Gretchen Whitmer.

Jeremy Moss (SD-11): If elected, Moss will become Michigan’s only openly gay state Senator. He was previously the second openly gay member of the Michigan House of Representatives.

Garnet Lewis (SD-26): If elected, Lewis will become Michigan’s only openly LGBTQ female State Senator.

MISSOURI

Kathy Ellis (MO-08): If elected, Ellis will become Missouri’s first openly LGBTQ Congresswoman in history.

Ryan Dillon (SD-16): If elected, Dillon will become Missouri’s only openly LGBTQ State Senator.

Ian Mackey (HD-87): If elected, Mackey would become the third openly LGBTQ elected official in the Missouri House of Representatives.

MONTANA

Amelia Marquez (HD-52): If elected in November, Amelia will not only flip another legislative from red-to-blue, but also become Montana’s first openly transgender legislator, and dependant on other elections, the nation’s second openly transgender state legislator.

NEVADA

Nelson Araujo (Secretary of State): If elected, Araujo will not only flip the Secretary of State’s office from red to blue but also become the state’s first openly LGBTQ statewide official and one of the first LGBTQ people of color elected to statewide office in the nation.

NORTH DAKOTA

Joshua Boschee (Secretary of State): If elected, Boschee will become one of the youngest statewide officials in North Dakota and the state’s first openly LGBTQ statewide official.

OHIO

Rick Neal (OH-15): If elected, Neal will beocme the first openly LGBTQ person elected to Congress from Ohio. Neal will be challenging NRCC Chairman Steve Stivers.

Nickie Antonio (SD-23): Antonio became the first openly LGBTQ candidate elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 2010. If elected, she will also become the first openly LGBTQ person elected to the Ohio state Senate.

Ohio Democrats also nominated 7 additional LGBTQ candidates for the state House of Representatives and state Senate, including:

• Melinda Miller (SD-31)

• John McManus (HD-41)

• Zach Dickerson  (HD-42)

• Rebecca Howard (HD-53)

• Jeremy Blake (HD-71)

• Garrett Baldwin (HD-85)

• Taylor Sappington (HD-94)

PENNSYLVANIA

Malcolm Kenyatta (HD-181): Kenyatta overcame an overtly bigoted smear campaign and if elected, will become the Pennsylvania House’s first openly LGBTQ person of color. Kenyatta also served a delegate to the 2016 Democratic National Convention hosted by the DNC.

Kristen Seale (HD-168): Seale is the first openly queer Democratic nominee in Pennsylvania. If elected, she will be the first openly LGBTQ woman in the Pennsylvania state House.

Daniel Smith Jr. (HD-12): Smith is challenging Republican Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, one of the most anti-LGBTQ state legislators in Pennsylvania, who sued to prevent a gay couple from marrying, introduced legislation banning same-sex marriage and said openly gay Rep. Brian Sims was a “lying homosexual” and “in open rebellion against God’s law.”

OREGON

Jamie McLeod-Skinner (OR-02):  McLeod-Skinner was the first out lesbian elected to the Santa Clara City Council and will be taking on Congressman Greg Walden, former chair of the NRCC. If elected, McLeod Skinner would become the first openly LGBTQ person elected to Congress from Oregon.

NORTH CAROLINA

North Carolina Democrats have nominated a candidate in every single legislative district this year, including more LGBTQ people than ever, including:

• Brandon Anderson (SD-45)

• Allison Dahle (HD-11)

• Marcia Morgan (HD-19)

• Dan Whitten (HD-15)

• Deb Butler (HD-18)

• Linda Bennett (HD-26)

• Cecil Brockman (HD-60)

TEXAS

Lupe Valdez (Governor): Lupe Valdez became the first openly lesbian gubernatorial nominee of any major party. If elected, she would also be the first openly LGBTQ person of color to serve as governor and the first Latinx to serve as governor of Texas.

Steven Kirkland (Texas Supreme Court): If elected, Kirkland will become the first openly LGBTQ member of the Texas Supreme Court and first openly LGBTQ statewide official in Texas.

Gina Ortiz Jones (TX-23): If elected, Ortiz Jones would be Congress’ first openly LGBTQ woman of color and first openly LGBTQ Asian American woman.

Eric Holguin (TX-27):  If elected, Holguin would become Congress’ first openly LGBTQ Latinx congressman and the first openly gay Latinx man in Congress.

Lorie Burch (TX-03): If elected, Burch would be among the first LGBTQ congresswomen from Texas.

Julie Johnson (HD-115): If elected, Johnson will become the 3rd openly LGBTQ member of the Texas House of Representatives.

Mark Phariss (SD-8): If elected, Pharris will become the first openly LGBTQ state Senator in Texas.

UTAH

Derek Kitchen (SD-02): If elected in November, Kitchen will be the only openly LGBTQ member of the Utah state legislature.

WASHINGTON

Claire Wilson (SD-30): If elected, Wilson will become the third  member of the Washington State Senate’s LGBTQ Caucus.

Kathy Gillespie (HD-18 [2]): If elected, Kathy will become the fifth member of the Washington House of Representatives’ LGBTQ Caucus.