Representatives David Cicilline (D-RI), Mark Takano (D-CA), and Mark Pocan (D-WI) have won reelection to the U.S. House, while LGBTQ challengers Pat Hackett in Indiana, Georgette Gómez in California, and Tracy Mitrano in New York have lost their Congressional bids, according to the AP.
There are currently seven out LGBTQ representatives in the U.S., and incumbents Representatives Sharice Davids (D-KS) and Chris Pappas (D-NH) have already been declared winners of their respective races, and Ritchie Torres and Mondaire Jones won their challenges. So the next Congress will have at least seven LGBTQ House members, with five races with LGBTQ candidates to be called.
Related: Sarah McBride will be the nation’s highest ranking transgender politician after election victory
Cicilline, who won his first term in the House in 2011, just declared victory.
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Thank you, Rhode Island! Serving as your Representative is the honor of my life. I am looking forward to continuing our work together. https://t.co/Nz99yuIxzt
— David Cicilline (@davidcicilline) November 4, 2020
Pocan, who was first elected in 2012, did as well.
It's my honor to serve the 2nd Congressional District. Thank you for reelecting me! https://t.co/d3RhxxKaai
— Mark Pocan (@MarkPocan) November 4, 2020
Takano has been in the House since 2012 and won reelection as well.
Congratulations on your re-election, @MarkTakano! pic.twitter.com/pSlsrooMeM
— LGBTQ Victory Fund (@VictoryFund) November 4, 2020
San Diego City Council President Gómez conceded the race for California’s 53rd District. She had hoped to bring her point of view as a queer Latina woman to the U.S. House.
“Being a queer Brown woman, it’s really important,” she told LGBTQ Nation in August. “Because you start shifting what conversations are being had at the highest level of our government, and you start influencing how legislation gets shaped.”
As votes here in San Diego continue being counted, the results of the election do not seem to be what we all hoped for. While we did not win this one, I will never give up the fight for equality and justice and a sustainable planet.
— Georgette Gómez (@SDGeorgette) November 4, 2020
Pat Hackett, an attorney, was running in Indiana’s 2nd District, which includes Pete Buttigieg’s home of South Bend.
The separation of church and state was central to her campaign. She told LGBTQ Nation in May that Donald Trump “is using the extreme religious right to foster his authoritarian purposes, and it is in that regard that it’s grotesque. But also because his agenda is extremely dehumanizing. He’s promoting prejudice under the guise of religious liberty.”
Republican Jackie Walorski currently has 65% of the vote while Hackett has 35% with 79% of precincts reporting, so the AP called the election for Walorski.
Cybersecurity expert Tracy Mitrano fought the good fight in New York’s 23rd District but is well behind Rep. Tom Reed (R) with 99% of precincts reporting. If she had won, she would have been the only out bi member of the U.S. House.
“We’re at an inflection point,” Mitrano told LGBTQ Nation in September. “We can’t take democracy for granted. Everyone has to pitch in.”
The reelection campaigns of Representatives Angie Craig (D-MN) and Sean Maloney (D-NY) and the races of challengers Gina Ortiz Jones in Texas, Beth Doglio in Washington, and Jon Hoadley in Michigan have not yet been called.
