On November 5, Democrats had several significant victories, but what are the major candidate’s records on LGBTQ issues?
Zohran Mamdani will be New York City’s next mayor.
Mamdani has a history of pro-LGBTQ votes while in office, including supporting New York Proposal 1, which added sexual orientation and gender identity to the state constitution’s equal protection clause. He also voted to make the city a sanctuary for LGBTQ+ people.
During his recent campaign, Mamdani carried a transgender flag during the city’s Pride march and vowed to protect trans people during his victory speech on Nov. 5.
Abigail Spanberger is the first woman to be elected governor of Virginia.
Spanberger, who was endorsed by the Human Rights Campaign, faced a Republican opponent who claimed opposition to same-sex marriage is not discrimination.
While in Congress Spanberger voted in favor of the pro-LGBTQ Respect for Marriage Act.
Abigail Spanberger’s website states, “As governor, she will work to safeguard the rights of all Virginians and make sure that no member of the LGBTQ community is denied government services, discriminated against, or loses a job because of who they are. Abigail supports the General Assembly’s efforts to remove the ban on marriage equality from Virginia’s constitution and enshrine marriage equality in Virginia.”
Mikie Sherrill, who won the governorship of New Jersey, supported the Respect for Marriage Act, the LGBTQI+ Data Inclusion Act, and voted against the anti-trans Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023 while in Congress.
Garden State Equality said, “Sherrill has been a champion for nondiscrimination protections, gender-affirming care access, and federal funding for LGBTQ+ youth services.”
Said Sherrill to Out New Jersey: “We’re all worried about our kids, whether they’re trans or not, we worry about their safety, their online experiences, their ability to thrive. Our job as parents, as leaders, as communities, is to protect them and support them. That’s what healthy societies do.”
Is this recent blue wave a sign of what’s to come in the 2026 midterm elections? Fox News reported that Vice President J.D. Vance said Republicans need to “direct their focus to the home front” and work to make life more affordable for Americans following the GOP’s losses in several key elections on November 5. U.S. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries posted on X that “Democrats are smoking Donald Trump and Republican extremists throughout the country.” Jeffries declared, “The Democratic Party is back.”
Historically, the party out of power tends to perform well in the midterms, but the outlook is more complicated this time: In the Senate, Democrats will be defending 13 seats in 2026 and will have to flip four Republican ones without losing any of their own to gain control. Most political analysts doubt this is likely.
The situation for Democrats in the House is also tricky. Texas has already redrawn its congressional map to help Republicans gain seats in 2026, while California recently approved changes to its map favoring Democrats and several other states are considering similar moves.