Out lawmaker Evan Low explains how dismantling the GOP could save the world

In 2008, future California Congressional candidate Evan Low was elected to his second term as a council member in the suburban city of Campbell near San Jose. He was just 25.

It was the same year one of Low’s political idols, Barack Obama, was elected president. And the same year Californians were shocked by the passage of Proposition 8.

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The notorious amendment to the state constitution halted same-sex weddings in the Golden State (sanctioned in 2004 and again in early 2008), proclaiming, “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”

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While the amendment became moot with a series of rulings culminating in the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges — which finally recognized same-sex marriage nationally — the language from Proposition 8 remains in the California state constitution.

If Obergefell were overturned, same-sex marriage in California would once again be outlawed.

Many elections later, Low, a California state assemblymember running for Congress from Silicon Valley, is the co-sponsor of a ballot initiative with state Sen. Scott Weiner (D) that would repeal the zombie amendment.

“It’s in direct response to Roe v. Wade being overturned because the Supreme Court said after Roe that marriage equality would be next,” says Low. “If they show you who they are, we need to believe that.”

Voters will have their say on the California Right to Marry and Repeal Proposition 8 Amendment in November, along with Low’s bid to represent Silicon Valley in Congress.

LGBTQ Nation spoke with the candidate, now 40, from his assembly district office in Cupertino, where he was bundled up against the California damp under a sweater and sleeveless parka.

LGBTQ NATION: You made your first run for office in 2004 when you were just 21. What inspired that first campaign and what was the reaction from voters to a candidate who could have been mistaken for a teenager?

EVAN LOW: (laughing) When I ran for office, I would knock on doors and people would ask me what I’m selling for school or if I’m running for student body president.

I would also get asked about my loyalty to Japan or the United States. I’m a fourth-generation Californian, speaking more Spanish than Chinese — I’m of Chinese descent — but people would ask those questions. And people would criticize me for bringing the homosexual agenda to the city of Campbell. At that time, of course, marriage equality was not the law of the land, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was still in place, the FDA ban on gay men donating blood — I mean all these protections were not what we enjoy here today.

So there were challenges, but these are not unique experiences to me. This is the lived experience of many others, as well, which is why representation is important.

You lost that race and ran again two years later and won. What changed?

More hard work and grit! And it wasn’t so scary the second time.

In 2009, your city council colleagues selected you as mayor, making you the youngest, openly gay Asian American mayor in the country. What was the most memorable moment from that experience?

I don’t think I understood what it meant at the time. I didn’t run because I was gay. I didn’t run because I was Asian. These are inherent qualities and characteristics of who I am, but there’s meaning and value to that.

As mayor, I could officiate a wedding, but I couldn’t get married myself. I could host a blood drive on City Hall property, but I couldn’t donate blood myself. I could welcome Boy Scouts to get a merit badge, but when they asked, “Mr. Mayor, were you also a Boy Scout?” my response would have to be, “Someone like me is not allowed in your organization.”

So representation is not about empty tokenism. It’s about your experiences and providing a lens of equity.

If you watch much television or spend any time at the movies, you know that Asian-American representation on screen is having a moment. I’m thinking about Emmy and Golden Globe-winning Beef, Brothers Sun, Oscar-winner Everything Everywhere All at Once. Why is that moment now, and do you have a favorite out of that group?

All of them, because it wasn’t that long ago, when we had TiVo, where you could fast forward, and you’d see an Asian face, and it’s like, what is that? Even just a cameo in a commercial, like, what was that? An Asian person? And so we oftentimes in our community feel invisible.

In fact, many times national networks will do a demographic breakdown and say, here’s the Latino vote, the Black vote, the women’s vote. And they’ll leave the Asian vote off, specifically. Similar experience also with LGBTQ+ that we are oftentimes left out, as well.

So to see that, wow, people like us can be seen, heard, valued and appreciated in entertainment — not just as an engineer, doctor, lawyer — it’s exciting.

As a State Assemblyman, you’ve chaired both the LGBTQ Legislative Caucus and the Tech Caucus, which you co-founded. Which group is the best dressed, and who throws the better parties?

No question about it. There’s one fabulous caucus, and that is the LGBTQ Legislative Caucus. And I’m just so proud and prideful of the history that we continue to make about representation.

But while we have a record amount of openly LGBTQ representation in California, at the same time we’re also dealing with a record amount of anti-LGBTQ pieces of legislation — close to 500, as you have well-reported — introduced across this country, so yes, representation is important, but it’s not enough.

You’re a stylish dresser. When you’re not sporting a suit and tie, or a sleeveless parka, you favor polo shirts, and you’re showing off some guns. What’s your workout routine?

(laughing) You know, building camaraderie is important. I think that’s a lost art in politics, where compromise is a dirty word and the opposition are seen as enemies. But to answer your question, I’m part of what we call the Workout Caucus. And so every day, we get together with a number of legislators and do various workouts together, and then spill the tea and have some coffee after.

Your assembly district and the congressional district you’re running for are at the heart of Silicon Valley, and some of the most important tech companies in the world are your constituents. When will A.I. legislators make human representatives obsolete?

(laughing) We talk about the hard, technical skills of A.I. looking to replace us, but the soft skills, the need for those increasingly important interpersonal skills, I don’t think that’s ever going to go away.

In your website campaign video, you mention reproductive freedom, gun safety, your climate record, fighting Asian hate, Islamophobia and antisemitism, and your support from police, but there’s no mention of LGBTQ+ issues or identity except the appearance of a little rainbow boutonniere you’re wearing in a photo that flashes at the beginning and end of the video. What’s your thinking behind that decision?

I am the author of a repeal of Proposition 8 to enshrine same-sex protections in our state constitution. I’m the author of Transgender Day of Remembrance. I’m author of gender-neutral retail, I am the author of qualifying conversion therapy as a fraudulent practice. I am deeply committed to members of our community and I am excited about that opportunity. So I will continue to be my authentic self and be as fabulous as possible.

No doubt you are gay, people know it, you support gay causes. But I’m just curious about why it’s not on your front porch, so to speak, on your website.

I am gay as f**k, so I don’t know what else to tell you.

(laughing) All right, we’ll leave it there. You earned the designation of California’s “Most Prolific Lawmaker” by The Sacramento Bee one year. With all that lawmaking, do you have time for a social life?

The great thing about this work is that it isn’t work to me. This is about our community. This is about the quality of life that we hope to enjoy. It’s incumbent upon my generation and the next generation to continually put in the sweat equity and advance equality across the board because our protections are being rolled back. The Supreme Court is coming for us, they have come for us. If they show you who they are, we need to believe that.

Are you dating or hanging out with anyone special?

I do have a significant other. We’ve been together for close to five years. He’s not in the political space at all, so it keeps a good balance of normalcy.

Do you have plans to get married?

Yes, yes.

You’re 40 years old. Is your mom happy you’ll finally be married off?

What mother doesn’t want to see that? (laughing) I think she’s more happy about that than me running for Congress.

Just a month after you launched your campaign for Congress, you have a long list of prominent endorsements, which speaks to your talent for cultivating relationships. What’s the secret to earning loyalty from your colleagues and constituents?

The great thing about being openly gay is living our authentic selves. What you see is what you get, and I think many are looking for authenticity. You can agree to disagree and acknowledge the disagreements. I disagree many times with my mother on a wide variety of different issues, but you can still break bread, and she’ll still make me wash dishes after dinner.  

You’ve been a big player in legislating rules around Uber and Lyft since their founding. Have you ridden in a robotaxi and will they be the end of those ride-hailing services?

What’s important is that we address two things which are not mutually exclusive: How do we help support the innovation economy with the technology that currently exists while also focusing on the regulatory protections for workers’ rights, advancing the future of work, and what the displacement of work looks like?

Have you ridden in a robotaxi, and what was that experience like?

One reaction is, “I cannot believe that this technology is here.” But seeing it on full display is incredible.

What’s the single most important thing the world can do to address climate change — just one thing alone.

Dismantle the Republican Party as it exists today.

If you make it to Washington, you’re going to be fraternizing with a lot of familiar personalities. Here are some either/or questions:

Who would you rather share an Uber with? Matt Schlapp or Marjorie Taylor Greene?

I’d walk?

Who would you rather arm wrestle? Jim Jordan or Mike Johnson?

I’d concede. I don’t want to touch either of those homophobes.  

Who would you rather go clothes shopping with? Kyrsten Sinema or John Fetterman?

I’m in Silicon Valley. John Fetterman.

Levi’s Stadium is in your assembly district. Who’s winning the Super Bowl, and can you hook me up with tickets to the NFC Championship this weekend?

Oh my God. Well, not just that. Home to World Cup 2026 and home to the Super Bowl 2026, all in the same year.

Are you going to be at the game this weekend?

I am going to be knocking on doors in my 49ers jersey getting updates on the score.

What’s the best thing about your job representing your constituents in Silicon Valley?

Helping to make change for people who need it the most.