As the world observes Women’s History Month, the spotlight turns to the critical role of gender affirmation by women’s advocacy groups, while we navigate today’s increasingly unsettling political climate.
Many of these groups are not only fighting for the rights of women, but are also standing up for the broader LGBTQ+ community, ensuring that all individuals, regardless of their identity, are recognized and respected.
LPAC (Lesbian Political Action Committee) is an organization whose mission is to help elect LGBTQ women and non-binary individuals to political offices in an effort to promote growth, strength and stability for our entire community. This small and vital organization is dedicated to empowering and uplifting those and insuring ensuring that their rights and concerns are prioritized in political discourse. According to www.teamlpac.com: “Since the creation of LPAC in 2012, more than $7.1 million has been raised and invested in candidates and more than 255 elected candidates have been endorsed by LPAC.”
In an effort to gain a greater understanding of what the organization does, we spoke with Michelle Atwood, LPAC’s National Political and PAC Director to learn more about the organization:
Wendy Lyons: How does your role support LPAC?
Michelle Atwood: As the National Political and PAC Director, I am the person in charge of our campaign support. I provide direct support to our endorsed candidates. I manage the endorsement process. When folks reach out to us, we have them complete an endorsement questionnaire covering a series of intersectional issues that impact the Queer Community. I then do an endorsement interview with them and finally present them as a recommendation for endorsement to our board, who votes on our endorsements. I’m kind of available as a free consultant to the campaign. I’m available to chat through any elements of their voter contact plan, their messaging or anything like that. A lot of times these candidates are first time candidates and they’re running for smaller seats where they might not have the budget to hire actual campaign staff. That’s where we come in to offer our knowledge and expertise. We’re kind of a free resource for them to try to level the playing fields and help them get across the finish line.
WL: What is the primary mission of your organization, and how does it specifically support LGBTQ+ women and non-binary individuals?
MA: LPAC’s mission is to elect LGBTQ women and non-binary folks at every level of office. We’re a national organization and we support candidates at every level of office from town council all the way up to Congress or President. That’s the reason we’re really trying to build that pipeline. So often local offices are the first line of defense especially in a national environment that is so hostile to LGBTQ and Trans individuals right now. It’s really our local officials and state legislators who are needing to fight the good fight and be the defense for folks in their local districts.
WL: What are some of the current projects or initiatives LPAC is working on to promote LGBTQ+ rights and visibility?
MA: We have a PAC and also have a C4 and a C3 arm of the organization. We’re building out more programs on the C3 side of things in response to the current landscape and environment. We’re working on some training for the general public and elected officials on messaging around LGBTQ rights and Trans rights. So often we see people get put into these corners by conservatives and anti-LGBTQ persons. Folks are coming at them and we really want to equip people with message tested talking points to push back on that and not hurt their campaign. We want to provide them with messaging and local context that has data behind it that we know is effective. Some messaging that works in California might not necessarily work best in Texas or Florida. The bulk of our work is that campaign and candidate support. We had a huge uptick in our endorsements last year, we endorsed 208 candidates which shattered our previous record of 123 endorsements. We’ve already made 36 endorsements so far this year in higher and local offices for city councils and School Boards.
WL: What are some challenges that LPAC found LGBTQ+ women candidates face today and how does your organization help to address those issues here in the Carolinas?
MA: In North Carolina we supported several individuals including State Senator Lisa Grafstein who we worked closely with this past cycle. I know she was redistricted into a much more competitive seat from a safe Democratic seat to a D plus one seat. That’s actually something we’ve seen in a lot of places where, you know, it might not be explicitly said, but a lot of times our LGBTQ women [and] the LGBTQ community are targeted and redistricted. It’s important to call out, otherwise it can fly under the radar in terms of targeting these more marginalized communities and making their district much more difficult to be re-elected in. We checked in with her regularly and also sent her a direct contribution. We were so pleased that she won re-election as the only LGBTQ woman serving in the North Carolina State Senate. We supported Santana Deberry for Attorney General, LaWana Mayfield for Charlotte City Council At-Large, and several others including Vernetta Alston [and]Allison Dahle. We pride ourselves at LPAC for getting in races early because early support matters. A big issue LGBTQ women and non-binary folks contend with [against] male candidates is the big issue of whether or not they will get support early on or if people will vote for them. We did research this year and found that the reasons LGBTQ and non-binary folks are running for office is so community rooted. They are not running to advance their own political aspirations or their own power and status. It’s in response to issues in the community or their community members ask them to run and that’s when they step up. We’ve had a 72 percent win rate since our founding in 2012. We don’t make endorsements based on whether or not we think folks are going to win, but base on what they are doing. There’s a reason for them to run this campaign.
WL: Does a candidate need to contact LPAC or does LPAC seek out candidates?
MA: It goes both ways. Oftentimes folks will reach out to us through our contact form on our website and then I’ll pass along our questionnaire. I’m always talking with partner organizations and both national and local partner organizations. We share information on who we know is running. We’re also monitoring social media and oftentimes will see for the first time that a candidate is running.
WL: Can you share a success story that stands out to you as an impactful moment that illustrates the difference your organization has made in the lives of LGBTQ+ individuals?
MA: One that comes to mind is Representative Gabby Salinas, who became the first Democratic Latinx elected to the Tennessee legislature and the first out LGBTQ woman elected to the legislature in 2024. She had actually run in previous campaigns against a Republican Incumbent and came so incredibly close to unseating the Incumbent. She did not know about LPAC at that time. She was then redistricted into a safe Democratic seat and we were able to get behind her really early to make a difference in the Primary. We sent her a direct contribution. We worked really closely with her campaign as a small organization. We do what we can in terms of direct support and campusing. We heard from her how impactful it was to her how LPAC supported her. Candidates in Tennessee and other places like North Carolina oftentimes don’t feel as supported and very alone. To see our candidate take the initiative to throw an event herself to promote and spread the word about the work that we’re doing as a small organization to other candidates and the community, was incredible to see. It’s rewarding to see candidates connect and feel part of our LPAC Community.
WL: As we try to navigate the current political climate, what are some of LPAC’s goals for the next few years in terms of advocacy and support for LGBTQ women or non-binary folks?
MA: Our goal is to continue to build our community of LGBTQ women and non-binary folks. I think every year it gets stronger despite these attacks, maybe even in response to these attacks. People turn to Community even more and get stronger because we’re there for each other. You know we’re all out there on the front lines and all we have is each other. We have a strong goal to continue showing up for our candidates because it’s a really scary time to run for office. We want more folks to know that LPAC is there for them if they decide that it’s right for them and they want to take that jump and run.
WL: As a call to action, what can readers do to support LPAC organization and the LGBTQ+ community at large?
MA: We’re trying to get the word out about our work, our mission and about our endorsed candidates. This article really helps. Readers can sign up for our email list to stay in the loop about everything that we’re working on so that we can all be on the same page as a community. I think that’s a really great first step. Follow us on social media just in terms of building that national community as well. Pay more attention to local politics.
Writer’s note: In conclusion, LPAC’s work is more crucial than ever, as it not only honors the historical contributions of women in the fight for equality but also actively engages in shaping a future where all members of the LGBTQ+ community can thrive. By mobilizing resources, creating community connections and advocating for progressive policies, LPAC is committed to creating a more inclusive and equitable society for everyone.
Additional information:
To sign up for LPAC’s email list:
https://www.teamlpac.com/join-us
To donate to support LPAC’s work:
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/lpac
To see current and past endorsed candidates and their platforms:
https://www.teamlpac.com/endorsed-candidates-index
Follow LPAC on social media @teamlpac on most platforms