It was a tale of two cities when it came to LGBTQ candidates in the D.C. area on Tuesday.
In Maryland, even though Republican Gov. Larry Hogan won a commanding victory over former head of the NAACP and pro-LGBTQ ally Ben Jealous, he proved to have few coattails. Instead, Democrats retained a veto-proof majority in the state legislature, picking up seats in the House of Delegates and losing only one seat in the State Senate.
Notably, due to the performance of Democrats down ticket, several LGBTQ candidates will be sworn into office in Annapolis come January. One of those is Del. Mary Washington (D-Baltimore City), who earned a promotion from voters, making her the first lesbian and first African-American LGBTQ person elected to the State Senate.
In the House, Gabriel Acevero, running in the 39th District, became the first openly gay Afro-Latino elected to the Maryland General Assembly, and incumbent LGBTQ lawmakers Bonnie Cullison (D-Montgomery Co.), Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore City), Anne Kaiser (D-Montgomery Co.) and Maggie McIntosh (D-Baltimore City) swept to re-election. Elsewhere, incumbent Liz Barrett was re-elected to the Frederick County Board of Education, and, in a historic first, Silver Spring resident Evan Glass became the first openly gay elected member of the Montgomery County Council, winning an At-Large seat.
Tuesday was not so kind to LGBTQ candidates in the District, where all seven out candidates appearing on the ballot lost. In the race for two At-Large Council seats, lesbian restaurateur and community organizer Dionne Reeder, an independent, came in third behind Democrat Anita Bonds and Independent Elissa Silverman.
In Ward 1, openly gay independent candidate Jamie Sycamore lost his race against incumbent Councilmember Brianne Nadeau (D-Ward 1). Reeder and Sycamore’s losses ensure there will be no out LGBTQ Council members, although a couple dozen LGBTQ individuals in various wards were victorious in the less-heralded ANC races.
Elsewhere, gay community activist and education reform advocate Jason Andrean lost to Emily Gasoi in a three-way race for the Ward 1 seat on the State Board of Education.
The D.C. Libertarian Party, which ran a history-making all-gay slate for citywide races, saw all of their candidates fall short. Ethan Bishop-Henchman, who lost to incumbent Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D), was the party’s top-vote getter, earning 17,000 votes, or 8% of the vote. His husband, Joe Henchman, was the next highest performer, earning 6% in his race against Attorney General Karl Racine. Meanwhile, Martin Moulton failed to unseat Mayor Muriel Bowser, and Bruce Majors lost his race against Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton for her seat in Congress.
Erik Bottcher has received an endorsement from Equality PAC, the political action arm of the Congressional Equality Caucus, as he runs to succeed longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler, who plans to retire at the end of next year.
The openly gay Democrat, who represents Chelsea and won re-election to the New York City Council in last month’s municipal elections, is running for Manhattan’s 12th Congressional District, which Nadler has represented -- through multiple redistricting cycles -- since 1992.
Shortly after filing paperwork in October, Bottcher shattered a state record for the most money raised within 24 hours, pulling in $683,241.
A man shopping in the cereal aisle of an Alexandria, Virginia, Giant supermarket on Christmas Day was accosted by an angry woman who hurled anti-gay slurs at him while shoving his cart and placing her hands on him.
The confrontation was captured in a video later posted to TikTok. "Just got hate-crimed in the grocery store. TikTok do your thing," wrote the user, who goes by the handle @deonteiy.
Brian Footer, the chairman of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1E, has suspended his campaign for the open Ward 1 seat on the D.C. Council -- typically the final step before exiting a political contest.
Footer launched his campaign in July, seeking to succeed retiring Councilmember Brianne Nadeau (D).
With no incumbent running for reelection, a crowded field has emerged, including Rashida Brown, Footer's fellow ANC 1E commissioner and an endorsee of Nadeau; Jackie Reyes-Yanes, the former director of the Mayor's Office of Community Affairs; community activist Terry Lynch; ANC 1B Commissioner Miguel Trinidade Deramo, who, like Footer, is openly gay; and Aparna Raj, a tenant organizer, pro-union activist, and former chair of the Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America, who is bisexual.
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