Diversity. Equality. Inclusion. These were apparently the big winners in the recent midterm elections.
Georgia’s Bentley Hudgins, who identifies as transgender and nonbinary, was on the ballot for Georgia House District 90. Stacey Abrams once held the seat.
Hudgins handily defeated Republican Samantha Boston. With 99 percent of the votes tallied, Hudgins received more than 92 percent of the votes cast, while Boston garnered only 7.5 percent.
Hudgins’ road to the state house hasn’t always been easy. Interviewed by The Advocate earlier this year, they recounted having experienced housing insecurity during his early adult years. Additionally, while a student at Mercer University in Macon, Ga., he was outed and, according to them, sexually assaulted.
“Macon was a really hard time for me,” the 28-year-old Japanese American said. They withdrew from Mercer and worked a series of restaurant jobs in Macon. Then the massacre at the LGBTQ+ nightclub, Pulse, occurred. Hudgins organized a vigil in Macon’s Tattnall Square Park, which began a journey into community action.
Hudgins returned to Mercer and graduated with a degree in philosophy. They moved to Atlanta and became even more involved in politics and community organizing.
In 2020, Hudgins worked as a strategist for the New Georgia Project. They also became more involved in advocacy for LGBTQ+ Asian Americans. Under the drag persona, Shi, they created an all-Asian cast drag show. About drag and its relationship to political action, Hudgins said, “I found it [drag] to be an incredibly powerful organizing tool to provide space for healing and to raise resources for our community.”
For the past three years, Hudgins has worked as the state director for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). Following Hudgins election victory, HRC President Kelly Robinson issued a statement saying, “We at HRC have been privileged to see Bentley’s continued growth into a political force for good in recent years, and their victory tonight is a testament to the fact that the voters of the 90th State House District see it, too.”
Hudgins is the first out transgender and nonbinary person elected to the Georgia General Assembly. But they were not the only LGBTQ+ victory in the recent election.
Chris Pappas, a New Hampshire Democrat, is the first out gay man to be elected to the U.S. Senate. Pappas soundly defeated his Republican opponent, John Sununu.
Democrat transgender Congresswoman Sarah McBride retained her seat representing Delaware by defeating Republican Joseph Arminio. McBride, you may recall, had been attacked by House Republicans for using the women’s bathrooms in the Capitol and repeatedly misgendered by Republican colleagues.
Democrat Sharice Davids, an out lesbian and the first LGBTQ+ Kansas representative, won reelection by defeating Republican Eric Jenkins.
Democrat Richie Torres, the first out gay Afro-Latino member of the U.S. House, will go back to Washington representing the 15th Congressional District in New York.
Out gay man Malcolm Kenyatta won a fifth term representing Pennsylvania’s 181st District.
Jeremy Moss is the first out LGBTQ+ member to be elected to the U.S. House from Michigan.
Others include: nonbinary state representative DeShanna Neal in Delaware; Rep. Mark Pocan in Wisconsin; Zooey Zepher, a transgender Democrat who was barred from the House floor in 2023 by Republicans and who won another term representing Montana’s 95th House District; and JoAnna Mendoza, an openly LGBTQ+ military veteran representing Arizona’s 6th Congressional District.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, out lesbian, defeated her Republican challenger, as did Illinois Rep. Eric Sorenson, the first LGBTQ+ person elected to Congress from that state.
In Alabama, Democrat Allison Montgomery defeated incumbent Republican Phillip Rigsby to become the Cotton State’s first transgender legislator.
LGBTQ+ folks won big in this recent election, despite the name-calling by the President (“tr*nnie Annie” who won her race in SC by the way) and AI-generated ads depicting a Democratic NC candidate dancing with drag queens and constant subtle referencing of gays, lesbians and transgender persons by Republicans.
You can read more about Hudgins’ victory here and more about these and other LGBTQ+ wins here.
This story is brought to you by Rosedale Health and Wellness and Dudley’s Place.
