As Democrats celebrated major wins in key state contests on November 4, a wave of out LGBTQ candidates scored victories of their own in local and down-ballot races, further boosting LGBTQ representation in public office.

In Virginia, boosted by Abigail Spanberger’s win in the governor’s race, Democrats picked up 13 seats in the 100-member House of Delegates, increasing the size of their caucus to 64. All six incumbent LGBTQ delegates who were up for re-election — Rozia Henson (D-Woodbridge), Laura Jane Cohen (D-Burke), Mark Sickles (D-Franconia), Adele McClure (D-Arlington), Joshua Cole (D-Fredericksburg) and Cia Price (D-Newport News) — won their races.

In Virginia, energized by Abigail Spanberger’s gubernatorial victory, Democrats flipped 13 seats in the 100-member House of Delegates, expanding their caucus to 64. All six incumbent LGBTQ delegates up for re-election — Rozia Henson (D-Woodbridge), Laura Jane Cohen (D-Burke), Mark Sickles (D-Franconia), Adele McClure (D-Arlington), Joshua Cole (D-Fredericksburg), and Cia Price (D-Newport News) — successfully held their seats.

The LGBTQ caucus will also expand with the election of Lindsey Dougherty, a bisexual woman from Chester who unseated Del. Carrie Coyner (R-Chesterfield), one of the chamber’s few moderate Republicans. An eighth LGBTQ candidate, Risë Hayes, narrowly lost her bid to unseat Del. Wendell Walker (R-Lynchburg).

In nonpartisan races, Lori Silverman, who identifies as a gay woman, won re-election to the Falls Church School Board. Meanwhile, Blacksburg Vice Mayor Michael Sutphin, a gay man, is locked in a dead heat with business owner Peter Macedo, trailing by just 46 votes in a race likely to be decided by absentee and provisional ballots.

In New Jersey, where Democrat Mikie Sherrill won the governor’s race, 11th Legislative District Assemblywoman Luanne Peterpaul (D-Long Branch) secured another term. Former Democratic Gov. Jim McGreevey, who came out as gay before leaving office in 2004, advanced to a December runoff for the Jersey City mayor’s race, coming in second behind James Solomon, an incumbent city council member. In Franklin Township, Ed Potosnak, a gay Democrat, won re-election to his council seat by a nearly 3-to-1 margin.

In Pennsylvania, where Democrats retained three State Supreme Court judges — preserving their party’s 5-2 majority — several down-ballot LGBTQ candidates also notched important victories.

In Chester County, Erica Deuso made history as the first out transgender person elected mayor in Pennsylvania, winning her race in Downingtown with 64% of the vote.

In a statement, Deuso thanked voters for choosing “hope, decency, and a vision of community where every neighbor matters,” pledging to lead with compassion, practicality, and a focus on results.

In Allegheny County, Jamie Hickton, a lesbian, won election to the County Court of Common Pleas.

Elsewhere in the county, Daeja Baker, a Black pansexual progressive, finished first in a race for one of two seats representing District 1 on the Shaler Area School Board — despite a “dog whistle” campaign that sought to exploit racial animus and stoke hostility toward diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts by implying, without saying outright, that Baker would discriminate against whites.

In Lancaster County, Shannon Zimmerman, a lesbian, won a seat on the Manheim Township School Board, while Kait Linton, a nonbinary queer person, was elected to the Hempfield School Board, and Jeremy Zimmerman, a bisexual man, captured a seat on the Manheim Township Board of Commissioners.

Although Jasmine Preston, a transgender woman, narrowly lost her bid for mayor of Columbia Borough by just 74 votes, Ethan Byers, a gay man, won one of three open seats on the Columbia Borough Council. Elsewhere in the county, Marshall Miller, a gay man, was elected to the Lancaster City Council, while Bradley Mikitko, a gay Democrat in a Republican-leaning township, was re-elected as auditor of East Donegal.

In central Pennsylvania’s Snyder County, Jared Hoffman, a gay man, won a seat on the Selinsgrove Area School Board. In the northeast, Christopher Belles, also gay, was elected to the Luzerne County Council, representing a region that was once reliably Democratic but has shifted sharply to the right in recent years.

In Georgia, where Democrats captured two statewide Public Service Commission seats — marking the first time the party has won a statewide constitutional office since 2006 — LGBTQ representation remains strong.

Kelsea Bond, a Democratic socialist who is nonbinary and bisexual, won a seat on the Atlanta City Council, while incumbents Liliana Bakhtiari — a nonbinary queer person and the first LGBTQ Muslim elected to office in Georgia — Alex Wan, the first out gay man elected to the Council, and Matt Westmoreland were all re-elected without opposition.

In nearby Hapeville, At-Large City Councilmember Brett Reichert also won re-election.

In Texas, State Rep. Jolanda Jones (D-Houston) — the first Black lesbian elected to the Texas Legislature — placed third in a crowded field, missing the cutoff for a runoff election early next year. However, at the city level, Alejandra Salinas, who hopes to become the first out LGBTQ Latina on the council, placed second in the first round of voting for an at-large seat and will advance to a December 13 runoff.

In Washington State, Alexis Mercedes Rinck, who is bisexual, won re-election to an at-large seat on the Seattle City Council, while Dionne Foster, a queer woman, unseated Council President Sara Nelson for another at-large position.

In other good news for the LGBTQ community, school boards in Bucks County — including Philadelphia suburbs that became ground zero for the state’s conservative “parental rights” movement — largely saw Democrats or cross-endorsed candidates win seats on 13 local boards.

Notably, in races for the Centennial, Central Bucks, Pennridge, and Souderton Area school boards — all of which had been mired in “culture war” battles over transgender protections, Pride flag bans, book removals, anti-LGBTQ bullying, and efforts to strip lessons on race and racism from curricula — Democrats won either all four seats or three of the four contested in each district.

The Central Bucks School Board — which drew national attention for its “culture war” battles under Republican control — first flipped to Democrats two years ago, when voters rejected every candidate backed by the right-wing “parental rights” group Moms for Liberty. Karen Smith, a Republican-turned-Democrat elected board president, later took her oath of office on a stack of banned books in a symbolic gesture. After Tuesday’s election — buoyed by strong Democratic performances across the ballot — Republicans will no longer hold a single seat on the board.