New senator Laphonza Butler helped elect these 5 LGBTQ+ politicians before becoming one herself

Out lesbian Laphonza Butler was officially sworn in on Tuesday as the newest Democratic Senator from California, after being appointed to fill the late Dianne Feinstein’s (D) seat. She is the first LGBTQ+ person of color to serve as a senator.

But before she became one of the handful of queer politicians in Congress, Butler spent years getting other LGBTQ+ people elected as the head of EMILYs List, a group that fundraises money for pro-choice Democratic women running for office.

Related:

First lesbian in space to be immortalized in new ‘Women of NASA’ LEGO set

Astronaut Sally Ride passed away in 2012 and officially came out in her obituary.

Who has she helped secure victory? The list spans all levels of government, from mayors of large cities to sitting Senators. Here are five prominent queer champions that Butler helped put in office.

Insights for the LGBTQ+ community

Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more.

Daily

Weekly

Good News

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (Wisconsin)

Baldwin made history in 2012 when she became the first out gay senator in the nation and the first woman senator from Wisconsin. At the time, she declared, “I didn’t run to make history. I ran to make a difference.”

In 2018, she won her first reelection bid against a Trump-endorsed, anti-LGBTQ+ opponent.

Rep. Sharice Davids (Kansas)

Davids made history in 2018 as the first out LGBTQ+ person elected to Congress from Kansas, and as one of the first Native American women elected to Congress. She was also reelected in 2020. In 2022, Davids won again despite Republican redistricting efforts that targeted her district to make it harder for her to win.

She told LGBTQ Nation in 2020, “The fact that we have so many people who see a future for themselves and for their children and grandchildren in this country, and the number of people who are engaged in trying to shape that future, that is literally the manifestation of hope.”

Gov. Maura Healey (Massachusetts)

Healey was the first out lesbian governor in the country, as well as the first elected woman governor of her state. She was also the country’s first lesbian state attorney general. As Civil Rights Chief in the attorney general’s office, Healey brought the first successful challenge to the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act, helping to lay the groundwork for marriage equality nationwide.

While Massachusetts voters favored moderate Republicans in the governor’s mansion 24 out of the last 32 years, Healey shattered more than one expectation.

State Sen. Sarah McBride (Delaware)

In June, 32-year-old Sarah McBride declared her candidacy for deep-blue Delaware’s at-large seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, virtually assuring her place in history as the first transgender person to be elected to the United States Congress. She’s currently the highest-ranking elected trans official in the nation.

“My interest in politics, in many ways, stems from my own journey as an LGBTQ person, as a kid realizing who I am, and then beginning to understand that this world wasn’t quite built for someone like me to live openly and authentically,” she told LGBTQ Nation earlier this year. “I found hope in politics.”

State Rep. Danica Roem (Virginia)

The first openly transgender person to serve as a state legislator is now making a bid for the state Senate. She led the effort to ban so-called gay and transgender “panic” defenses in her state, especially in light of the anti-trans proposals being pushed across the country.

Virginia was an entirely Republican-controlled state when she first ran for her seat representing the state’s 13th district. She defeated one of the nation’s most viciously anti-LGBTQ+ politicians with the help of groups like EMILYs List.