The slate of LGBTQ+ people running for political office in the U.S. in 2024 is far more diverse than in the last presidential election year, 2020, according to a new report from the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund.
The candidate pool was more diverse by gender identity, sexual orientation, and race/ethnicity than in 2020, notes the organization’s “Out on the Trail” report.
The proportion of candidates who are transgender, nonbinary, or gender-nonconforming grew by more than seven percentage points between 2020 and 2024 — 7.9 percent to 15.2 percent. However, cisgender men still make up the majority of LGBTQ+ candidates, and cisgender men and women represent nearly 85 percent of the total.
For the first time, gay candidates made up less than 50 percent of the total, at 49.2 percent. The number identifying as queer more than doubled, growing from 52 in 2020 to 119 in 2024, with the percentage rising from 6.8 percent to 13.1 percent. Just over one-third of all LGBTQ+ candidates running this year were bisexual, pansexual, or queer. Lesbian representation dipped from 26.7 percent to 16.1 percent.
Regarding racial and ethnic diversity, 37.6 percent of LGBTQ+ candidates this year are from nonwhite ethnic groups, up from 30.9 percent in 2020. However, this continues to lag in representation, as people of color make up 42.6 percent of the U.S. population, and all racial groups saw a slight decline from 2022 midterm election, as the total number of candidates in 2022 was slightly higher than in 2024.
Hispanic/Latine candidates were the largest nonwhite group, at 14.1 percent of the total, followed by Black/African American candidates, at 12.1 percent. The number of Middle Eastern/Arab candidates grew from 1 in 2020 to 7 in 2024, multiracial candidates from 30 to 52, and Asian American and Pacific Islandercandidates from 23 to 34.
Victory Fund tracked at least 1,017 LGBTQ+ candidates who ran for local, state, or federal office in 2024, a slight increase over the 2020 count of 1,006 and a slight decrease from 2022 midterms. As of this report, Victory Fund has endorsed 483 candidates this year. They are running or have run in every state but Nebraska and in Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. After being sorted out in primaries, there are now at least 668 LGBTQ+ candidates who will appear on the November ballot nationwide, up from 574 in 2020. This year’s total includes 444 Victory Fund candidates.
LGBTQ+ candidates are overwhelmingly Democratic, at 90.6 percent. Republicans represent 2.2 percent of the total and independents 3.6 percent.
“2024 is a pivotal year for our democracy, and we’ve already seen the power of hateful vitriol, misinformation and anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric infecting the electoral process,” Victory Fund President and CEO Annise Parker said in a press release. “Our work is the antidote, and we are proud to see so many LGBTQ+ candidates running to serve nearly everywhere in our nation — including nearly 400 candidates for state legislatures. We know what’s at stake — our rights, freedoms and democracy itself. Out LGBTQ+ candidates for office bring critical values and perspectives to their work in leadership. These candidates represent our nation’s future, reflect our nation’s diversity and show that LGBTQ+ people are vital, instrumental voices in our halls of power.”
Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly referred to CNN anchor Anderson Cooper with a woman’s first name in recent days as the Republican presidential nominee focuses his closing message on a hypermasculine appeal to men.
On a Friday morning post on Trump’s social media site Truth Social, the former president referred to one of the most prominent openly gay journalists in the U.S. as “Allison Cooper.”
Trump made the subtext even more explicit later Friday during a rally in Traverse City, Michigan, where he criticized a town hall Cooper hosted with Vice President Kamala Harris.
“If you watched her being interviewed by Allison Cooper the other night, he’s a nice person. You know Allison Cooper? CNN fake news,” Trump said, before pausing and saying in a mocking voice: “Oh, she said no, his name is Anderson. Oh, no.”
CNN journalist Anderson Cooper in New York City on Dec. 10, 2023. Mike Coppola / Getty Images for CNN
On Saturday, Trump repeated the name during another Michigan rally, then followed it up during a nighttime reference in Pennsylvania. “They had a town hall,” Trump said in Michigan. “Even Allison Cooper was embarrassed by it. He was embarrassed by it.”
In referring to Cooper with a woman’s name, Trump appeared to turn to a stereotype heterosexual people have long deployed against gay men. Such rhetoric evokes the trope of gay men as effeminate and comes as Trump aims to drive up his appeal among men in the final stages of his bid to return to the White House.
The former president on Friday recorded a three-hour interview with Joe Rogan, a former mixed martial arts commentator whose podcast is wildly popular among young men. On Oct. 19, Trump kicked off a Pennsylvania rally discussing legendary golfer Arnold Palmer’s genitalia.
The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment. A representative for Cooper declined to comment.
A Catholic school board trustee tried to ban the Pride flag after comparing it to the Nazi swastika a second time and got kicked off the board in the process.
The Niagara Catholic District School Board in Ontario censured Natalia Benoit in January after an independent investigator agreed she breached the board’s code of conduct by making the hateful comparison. She was relieved of her duties and barred from attending board meetings for six months. Catholic schools in Ontario get public funds.
Just weeks after returning, Benoit again introduced a “proposal to amend the flag-flying protocol to exclude the Pride flag,” which would bar schools and offices from displaying the inclusive standard
In an explanation caught on tape last year, Benoit claimed she didn’t support flying “any flag at all… Like the Nazi flag, we don’t want that up either, right?”
The Nazis killed six million Jews during World War II and started their reign of terror by singling out transgender people in a campaign of violence and book burning. More than 15,000 LGBTQ+ individuals were interred in concentration camps, according to the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.
The report investigating Benoit’s actions described the Nazi flag as “a distinctly recognizable symbol of Nazi propaganda,” and the Nazi regime “was characterized by its pursuit of racial ‘purity’ pursued through policies designed to exterminate Jews and other minorities – including homosexuals – by mass murder, among other means.”
The Pride flag, by contrast, is one “which always reflects in essence a rainbow” and “is born out of an intention to include persons historically marginalized in society.”
Benoit was unrepentant after the report was issued.
“There is no comparison of flags,” she wrote. “It is a statement that no flags should be flown which would cause conflict and controversy in our schools. Alleging the comparison was only spreading lies provoking a hostile environment.”
The board began flying the Pride flag at its high schools in 2021 and at elementary schools in 2022.
Board chair Danny Di Lorenzo said that despite Benoit’s provocation, he hadn’t received many complaints about flying the flag. “I got some negative, some positive” comments, he explained, adding it’s generally accepted within Ontario’s Catholic schools.
“The New Testament has many stories of Christ himself reaching out to those who are marginalized,” Director of Education Camillo Cipriano told CBClast week. After discussions with several priests and the local diocese, he said, “I will continue to fly it as long as it remains my decision.”
“I think that it’s a sign of inclusion, a sign of acceptance — not a sign of promotion,” board chair Di Lorenzo said. “The Bible also says acceptance of others and that Jesus accepts everyone. I think that’s where we have to stop and reflect on the Bible… We do have a loving God and we do have an accepting God.”
Benoit’s resurrected proposal goes to a vote before the board on Tuesday.
On Thursday, Governor Tim Walz sat down for an interview with author Glennon Doyle, her partner Abby Wambach, and her sister Amanda Doyle during a taping of the We Can Do Hard Things podcast. The conversation touched on key election issues such as abortion and gun violence. However, midway through the podcast, the discussion shifted to queer youth, specifically transgender kids. Rather than shying away from the topic, Walz delivered a passionate, several-minute-long defense of LGBTQ+ rights, including transgender healthcare. He outlined his vision for the administration’s role in protecting these rights.
The question came from Abby Wambach, who turned to the topic after discussing Walz’ founding of a Gay-Straight Alliance at his high school in the mid-90s. Wambach asked, “Well, thank you Governor Walz so much for protecting even in the late ’90s queer kids. And so I have to ask, what will a Harris-Walz administration do to protect our queer kids today?”
Walz discussed positive legislative actions, such as codifying hate crime laws and increasing education, while emphasizing the importance of using his platform to advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. He then addressed the role of judges in safeguarding medical care for queer youth: “I also think what Abby, your point is on this, and I was just mentioning, we need to appoint judges who uphold the right to marriage, uphold the right to be who you are, making sure that’s the case, uphold the right to get the medical care that you need. We should not be naive. Those appointments are really, really important. I think that’s what the vice president is committed to.”
He didn’t stop there. Instead, he directly pivoted to calling out national anti-transgender attack ads which have flooded the airwaves across the United States, often airing besides NFL football games and other major sporting events. The Trump administration has spent upwards of $20 million on such ads, with outside organizations spending $80 million on various races.
“We see it now; the hate has shifted to the trans community. They see that as an opportunity. If you’re watching any sporting events right now, you see that Donald Trump’s closing arguments are to demonize a group of people for being who they are,” Walz said. He continued, “We’re out there trying to make the case that access to healthcare, a clean environment, manufacturing jobs, and keeping your local hospital open are what people are really concerned about. They’re running millions of dollars of ads demonizing folks who are just trying to live their lives.”
He emphasized the importance of representation and the impact of coming out, particularly for parents who may not have been exposed to LGBTQ+ identities and therefore might lack understanding. Walz pointed out, “Look, you’re reaching a lot of folks in hearing this, and for some people it’s not even out of malice and it’s not a pejorative, it’s out of ignorance. They maybe have not been around people. You’ve all seen this, however, it takes you to get there, but I know it’s a little frustrating when you see folks have an epiphany when their child comes out to them.”
The strong defense of queer and trans youth came just one day after Kamala Harris participated in a Fox News interview with Brett Baier. Baier, who maintained a hostile tone throughout, pressed Harris on transgender issues with his second question. Rather than adopting the Republican framing, as some Democrats have done recently, Harris emphasized that the law requires medically necessary care for transgender inmates and criticized Trump for spending $20 million on ads focused on an issue far removed from the priorities of most Americans. Her response prompted Baier to quickly shift to another topic.
In back-to-back days, the Harris-Walz ticket has made it clear they will not back down on queer and trans rights, despite the barrage of anti-trans attack ads. This stance is likely reinforced by the repeated failure of similar ads in recent races, including Wisconsin’s Supreme Court election, legislative races in Pennsylvania and Virginia, Georgia’s Herschel Walker vs. Raphael Warnock election, Andy Beshear’s reelection in Kentucky, and the 2023 losses of 70% of Moms for Liberty and Project 1776 school board candidates across the United States. For transgender people, these interviews are likely a welcome relief after some wavering responses from other Democratic candidates in swing states.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Becca Balint shattered historical barriers with her 2022 election, marking the first time Vermont sent a woman and out LGBTQ+ person to Congress.
Through her tenure in Vermont’s legislature and notably as the state Senate’s president pro tempore, Balint, 55, crafted a legacy underscored by her commitment to progressive values — from staunch advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights to proactive stances on climate change and housing affordability. Her election to the U.S. House in 2022 not only shattered historical barriers, marking the first time Vermont sent a woman and out LGBTQ+ person to Congress, but also underscored the evolving dynamics of American political representation.
Balint’s journey in Congress is more than a story of legislative battles; it’s a testament to the mental warfare that LGBTQ+ members endure daily.
“I think people don’t understand the emotional and psychological toll it takes on us as openly gay members of Congress that we are in those committee hearings when people are saying horrible things about us,” she says.
She says this onslaught is not just an attack on a community but also a dangerous precedent for democracy itself.
She details a troubling experience that underscores the challenges faced by members of the Congressional Equality Caucus. “I’ll just tell you about a moment that was very difficult for me. A couple of other members of the Equality Caucus were watching people that we are friendly with, who I would consider good colleagues, vote against our being on the floor. And then we’re just supposed to carry on as if that didn’t happen. And that’s really hard. That’s really, really hard,” she recounts.
Balint’s commitment to fighting these forces is driven by a belief rooted in her constituents’ desires for unity and trust within their communities.Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
“I don’t want to hate my neighbors. I don’t want not to trust my neighbors. This isn’t good for the democracy. It’s not good for our communities,” she says constituents told her. She says she seeks to hold those who support anti-LGBTQ+ measures accountable and empower people striving for positive change.
Her strategy to combat anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment is both a call to arms and a gentle reminder of Americans’ shared humanity.
“We have to get better at calling out the enablers,” she insists. But Balint’s approach is not one of mere confrontation. It’s about amplifying the voices of those working to bridge divides and foster allies while fiercely protecting one’s community and well-being.
Balint sees rays of hope in coalition-building and raising awareness. She emphasizes the significance of bringing transgender Americans into committee hearings and private discussions with Congress members, not as political pawns but as individuals with stories that transcend partisan lines.
“It’s something that we have tried to take on in earnest in this Congress with bringing in more transgender Americans to talk in committee hearings, to talk to us as members of Congress privately and their parents,” Balint says.
This strategy is not just about promoting trans rights but about illustrating how these attacks are indicative of broader assaults on personal freedoms, including parental rights and reproductive rights, she says.
The Equality Act is at the forefront of her agenda, as it would provide not just a legal safeguard for LGBTQ+ rights but a moral compass guiding America toward its ideals of liberty and justice for all. “Nobody in this country, whether it’s reproductive rights or gender-affirming [care], should have to worry about what zip code they are living in or born into,” she says.
Balint and other congressional leaders have also championed more inclusive and intersectional education by reintroducing the LGBTQI+ and Women’s History Education Act of 2023, which seeks to counteract the rise of anti-LGBTQ+ education laws across various states by empowering the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History to develop educational resources that celebrate the contributions and histories of LGBTQ+ people and women.
As both a parent and former educator, Balint emphasizes the critical role of comprehensive education in fostering community health and democratic vitality. She’s called out the current tide of curriculum restrictions and book bans that seek to erase significant figures and narratives from history, instead advocating for an education system that acknowledges and honors diversity.
Last October, Balint took a bold stance on the House floor, initiating a vote on a resolution to censure GeorgiaRepublican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for her history of anti-LGBTQ+, anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, racist, and otherwise bigoted remarks as well as her promotion of conspiracy theories.
Balint’s optimism about the potential for change is palpable, especially with the prospect of electing the first trans woman to Congress, Sarah McBride, a Democratic state senator from Delaware who is running for the U.S. House, whom she ardently supports.
“The conversations will change in Congress when she is on the floor of the House speaking and demystifying and humanizing her experience,” Balint says. However, she also acknowledges the formidable challenges in a political landscape that exploits fear of the unknown. “It is human nature, I think, to fear what you don’t understand,” she says.
“And unfortunately, we have a GOP machine right now that is taking full advantage of that, and it’s killing us. It’s killing our spirit. It’s killing the democracy.”
But what sets Balint apart is not just her political acumen or her unwavering advocacy for the LGBTQ community; it’s her humanity. Her story is one of hope, not despair, of laughter and office dance parties amid the seriousness of her mission.
“We have five-minute dance parties here in the office,” she shares.
Balint’s optimism is infectious. It’s a reminder that even in the darkest times, there are reasons to smile, dance, and keep fighting for a better tomorrow.
“The stakes are too high for us to lose hope,” she says.
“We’re moving them back from Washington, where you have people that don’t care about New York, frankly. You know, in Washington, I don’t know if you ever noticed that you got Department of Education, Department of Education. You got half the buildings are Department of Education.
“I never saw – you don’t need any of them. You know, I want one person and the secretary to just make sure they’re teaching English. Okay. Give a little English. Okay. I say reading, writing, and arithmetic. No transgender, no operations.
“You know they take your kid. There are some places your boy leaves the school, comes back a girl. Okay. Without parental consent. What is that all about? That’s like. When they talk about a threat to democracy, they’re a threat.
“Could you imagine without parental consent? At first, what I was told that was actually happening, I said, you know, it’s an exaggeration. No. It happens! It happens in areas where it happens. We’re not going to let it happen, but we are going to straighten out a lot.
“What we’re going to really do, though, is give you a lot of jobs and a great economy, and you’re going to be able to straighten yourselves out.” – Trump, responding to a Bronx father this morning on Fox & Friends.
In video shared by Fox News on Monday, Donald Trump again claimed schools around the country are “taking” kids and performing “operations” on them.
“There are some places your boy leaves the school, comes back a girl,” Trump insisted without proof.
“Okay? Without parental consent. What is that all about? That’s like — when they talk about a threat to democracy, they’re a threat,” Trump continued, apparently referring to his Democratic opponent and clearly rattled that her message about his authoritarian nature and cognitive decline are taking hold.
In a rambling answer to a Bronx dad at what the New York Post described as a “surprise” visit to a barbershop packed with Black men who support Trump, the former president, slumped in a barber chair, held forth incoherently on his solution for problems at America’s schools: stopping teachers and administrators from transitioning kids.
All of this was in response to the dad’s question about how Trump would help Bronx public schools perform better – the dad didn’t mention trans kids at all.
“Could you imagine without parental consent? At first, what I was told that was actually happening, I said, you know, it’s an exaggeration. No. It happens! It happens in areas where it happens. We’re not going to let it happen, but we are going to straighten out a lot,” Trump said, untethered from the facts or syntax.
Trump also added his stock answer of all but eliminating the Department of Education, claiming he’d abolish every job at the Cabinet-level agency save the head of the department and a secretary for the Secretary.
“We’re moving them back from Washington, where you have people that don’t care about New York, frankly,” Trump told his Bronx questioner. “You know, in Washington, I don’t know if you ever noticed that you got Department of Education, Department of Education. You got half the buildings are Department of Education.”
“I never saw – you don’t need any of them. You know, I want one person and a secretary to just make sure they’re teaching English. Okay. Give a little English,” he said. “Okay? I say reading, writing, and arithmetic. No transgender, no operations.”
The sputtering appearance was just one in a week marked by the Republican nominee’s deteriorating campaign performances. Earlier in the week, Trump swayed to his Spotify playlist at a rally in Pennsylvania for close to 40 minutes, gesturing along to favorites like “Ave Maria” and “Memory” from Cats. On Sunday, Trump donned a Dukakis-worthy hat and McDonald’s apron to work the frier and hand out free orders to fake drive-thru customers at a closed restaurant location. At a rally in Detroit, an 18-minute microphone malfunction left the 78-year-old fuming and wandering the stage.
The faux “surprise” visit at Knockout Barber in The Bronx Thursday — hosted spontaneously if you believe the campaign’s claim by “Fox & Friends” co-host Lawrence Jones — had “customers” waiting in the shop during a security lockdown from 9:30 in the morning until Trump staggered in at 4 p.m.
Adding to the surreality at the barbershop: a clip reveals one barber shearing the neckline of a stand-in customer for thirty seconds, but not cutting his hair at all, one more clue to the staged nature of the supposedly spontaneous campaign stop.
In June, the Trump campaign tricked the owner of a Black barbershop in Georgia into hosting what he said they characterized as a small business roundtable, not a Trump campaign event.
“You guys are the same as me,” the slumped billionaire candidate told his Bronx barbershop fans. “We were born the same way… I know you people so well. I know you so well.”
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Hundreds of veterans who were dismissed from the U.S. military under the now-repealed “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy have been given honorable discharges following a yearlong review, the Pentagon announced Tuesday.
“Even though the majority of service members discharged for their sexual orientation … were honorably separated, nearly 2,000 were separated with less than fully honorable characterizations,” Christa A. Specht, a legal policy director at the Defense Department, said in a news release Tuesday.
After the repeal, those who were dismissed due to the policy could appeal for an upgrade to an honorable discharge, which would make them eligible for full military benefits. However, Specht noted, many people affected by the policy were unaware they could do so. The “proactive review” sought to address this.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said 851 cases were proactively reviewed over the past year, and 96.8% of them, more than 800, qualified for “relief.”
“Brave LGBTQ+ Americans have long volunteered to serve the country that they love,” Austin said in a statement Tuesday. “Under President Biden’s leadership, the Department of Defense has taken extraordinary steps to redress the harms done by ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ and other policies on these former Service members.”
The announcement comes just over a year after the department announced it would conduct a “proactive review” of service members who were dismissed under the policy, which prohibited gay and lesbian members of the military from being open about their sexual orientation. “Don’t ask, don’t tell” was in effect from February 1994 to September 2011 and resulted in the discharge of more than 13,000 service members.
“What this means is that of the nearly 13,500 individuals who were administratively separated under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, and served long enough to receive a merit-based characterization of service, 96% now have an honorable discharge,” Austin said in the statement.
Gays and lesbians dismissed from the military during the “don’t ask, don’t tell” era are part of a legacy that started well before 1994. Historians estimate at least 100,000 service members were forced out of the military due to their actual or perceived sexuality between World War II and 2011.
As the 2024 election looms, younger LGBTQ+ voters are navigating a uniquely stressful political landscape. The combination of targeted legislation, hate speech, and economic uncertainty has compounded an already intense election season for these communities, leading to a marked increase in anxiety and mental health concerns.
Despite these challenges, queer Gen Z voters are expected to mobilize in record numbers, driven by a desire for change.
For marginalized communities, like LGBTQ+ individuals, this anxiety can be even more intense due to fears of policies that could negatively impact their rights and lives. Symptoms can include trouble sleeping, constant worry, difficulty concentrating, and feelings of hopelessness.
Related
As politically charged rhetoric rises, many LGBTQ+ and Gen Z voters are feeling increasingly overwhelmed by the stakes of upcoming elections.
LGBTQ+ voter motivation is high, but mental health is at risk
LGBTQ+ voter turnout is expected to be strong in the 2024 election. According to a GLAAD poll, an overwhelming 94% of LGBTQ+ registered voters say they plan to cast their ballot this November. However, this motivation to engage in the political process comes with significant emotional costs. A striking 72% of LGBTQ+ individuals report that the current political climate has negatively impacted their mental health.
For queer Gen Z voters, the overall mental health picture is even more concerning, with 71% of LGB Gen Z adults reporting they experienced anxiety “a lot of the day yesterday,” compared to just 52% of their straight peers, according to Gallup. This general anxiety adds to the emotional burden many queer voters carry into this election season.
Elizabeth Douglas, MA, LADC, LPCC, a Minnesota-based therapist and owner of Yellow Wallpaper Therapy, who has spent over a decade working with the queer community, explains, “Recent legislation limiting access to gender-affirming care, banning discussions of LGBTQ+ issues in schools, and proposing restrictions on transgender individuals’ rights have contributed significantly to anxiety and stress.”
This stress is only heightened by the political polarization many LGBTQ+ voters feel, with some questioning whether their votes will make a difference in a system that often feels hostile to their identities.
The rise of LGBTQ+ voters as a political force
Despite the mental health challenges, the LGBTQ+ community is emerging as an influential voting bloc, particularly among Gen Z. According to the Human Rights Campaign, one in seven voters is expected to identify as LGBTQ+ by 2024—and that number could grow to one in five by 2040. In the 2020 election, LGBTQ+ voters made up 7% of the electorate, which is expected to rise in the coming years.
This growth in numbers is already being reflected in key election metrics. LGBTQ+ voters favor Vice President Kamala Harris over Donald Trump by a substantial margin, and in Congressional races, 77% of LGBTQ+ voters are likely to support Democratic candidates. However, this strong preference for Democratic candidates also underscores the deep political divide felt by many LGBTQ+ individuals.
The impact of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and legislation
The surge in anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and hate speech has left many queer voters feeling vulnerable. Nearly half of LGBTQ+ voters report experiencing real-world bullying, further contributing to the sense of anxiety surrounding the election.
And it’s not just rhetoric—laws targeting transgender youth, banning gender-affirming care, and limiting discussions of LGBTQ+ issues in schools are having profound effects on mental health and overall well-being.
Douglas highlights how these stressors are affecting the younger LGBTQ+ generation: “The rise in hate crimes and public anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, especially on social media, has contributed to a pervasive feeling of vulnerability. These factors drive political engagement but may deter some from voting out of fear for safety, especially in public polling places.”
Related
Gen Z’s unique perspective and mental health crisis
Gen Z is the most diverse generation yet, with 28% identifying as LGBTQ+ according to the latest data from the Public Religion Research Institute. This group is redefining what it means to be politically engaged, but they’re also dealing with overwhelming mental health challenges. Only 38% of queer Gen Z adults rate their mental health as “excellent or good,” compared to 63% of their straight counterparts.
The emotional toll is evident in how they approach political engagement. While many Gen Z voters are leading the charge for progressive change, they are also grappling with the pressure to balance activism with self-care.
According to Douglas, building safe communities, both online and offline, can offer some relief, but the systemic pressures queer Gen Z faces make it difficult to avoid burnout.
How to manage election anxiety
Election anxiety is not going away, but there are strategies to help alleviate its impact. For LGBTQ+ voters, especially Gen Z, advocacy can provide a sense of control and empowerment. Engaging in activism can offer a constructive outlet for stress.
Douglas suggests several strategies:
Engage in advocacy through voting, organizing rallies, and joining LGBTQ+ activist groups
Build safe online and offline communities
Practice digital hygiene to limit exposure to harmful content
Participate in therapy or peer support groups
Support LGBTQ+ candidates and grassroots campaigns
In addition to the strategies already mentioned, managing election anxiety can also involve setting healthy boundaries with news consumption. Limiting your exposure to the 24/7 news cycle—particularly avoiding doomscrolling before bed—can protect your mental well-being. Focus on trusted, LGBTQ+ affirming news sources, and only check in at specific times during the day.
Another way to reduce feelings of helplessness is to focus on what you can control, such as volunteering for LGBTQ+ organizations or helping others register to vote. Taking tangible actions, no matter how small, can provide a sense of empowerment.
However, it’s also important to know when to take a step back and protect mental health. It’s about finding balance—staying involved and informed, but not overwhelmed.
Related
Empowering change and supporting well-being
As the election approaches, queer Gen Z voters are stepping into their power. While the challenges they face are immense, their collective voice is reshaping the political landscape. Understanding the unique factors driving election anxiety for LGBTQ+ voters is key to ensuring their voices are heard—and their mental health is supported.
With a rapidly growing LGBTQ+ electorate, their votes will not only shape the outcome of the 2024 election but will also define the future of political discourse in the U.S. As Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD, puts it, “LGBTQ Americans are ready to exert their significant power to shape electoral politics, choose responsible leadership, and use their voices to advocate for equality.”
And that includes young, queer individuals who are coming of age and using their voices to demand change and hold politicians accountable, as well.
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In a state like Georgia that has a Republican trifecta — a Republican governor and a party majority in both chambers of the state legislature — queer community leaders and political strategists are working diligently to prove Atlanta isn’t the state’s only allegedly progressive community.
Georgia has roughly 8 million registered (active and inactive) voters. Georgia’s Secretary of State online data hub indicates there have been 121,898 more active voters since the December 2022 runoff election, and each one will count in a battleground state that could determine the nation’s future.
In September, the Georgia State Election Board voted to have all cast ballots counted by hand. Many consider this rule change an ongoing effort to undermine or at least delay election results. Democrats, who were once pushing Gov. Brian Kemp (R) to hold an ethics hearing, filed a lawsuit to have a judge push Kemp to remove some of the members of the elections board believed to be former President Donald Trump loyalists. While one judge dismissed the case in early October, a Fulton County Superior Court Judge issued an injunction blocking the hand count rule on the first day of early voting in the state. The judge felt the new rule was approved too close to Election Day and would create “administrative chaos.”
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Your LGBTQ+ guide to Election 2024
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Georgia’s narrative as a battleground state has been a major talking point in recent years. According to some reports, Stacey Abrams’ 2018 gubernatorial campaign was a test case to prove if the Democratic party mounted a “sustained voter outreach campaign,” the state could flip from red to blue. In Georgia, Joe Biden narrowly beat Trump by 11,779 votes during the 2020 election, garnering him the Electoral College votes needed to become the 46th president of the United States and strengthening the argument that Georgia could be a viable player on the national stage. Two years later, Sen. Raphael Warnock’s runoff win over Republican challenger Herschel Walker solidified the state’s status as a bonafide swing state.
How has this happened? An increasing number of LGBTQ+ community leaders and political strategists have worked tirelessly to galvanize voters of all ages, backgrounds, and identities to build a coalition beyond the state’s capital, Atlanta. They have also proven, to some extent, that they carry political power in the state and have built effective grassroots efforts in their local communities.
Georgians are fighting for people over politics
FTR Political Strategies co-founder Mo Pippin.
At 28, Mo Pippin (they/them) is one Georgian hoping to turn the state from purple to blue. In 2023, they co-founded FTR Political Strategies out of a need for greater engagement in local elections and voter education.
“Here in Roswell — which is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from Athens — we’re doing the work to boil down these large, sometimes scary federal issues to local and state issues that are digestible, recognizable, and salient to people; and trying to connect them with better representatives,” Pippin told LGBTQ Nation. “I believe fully that young people have been primed to have conversations with people who are different from us. One of the primary things that we do to engage voters is we canvas; we knock on doors.”
Pippin said voters have warned them to be careful in their neighborhood whenever they canvass in traditionally conservative areas of Roswell. They believe the warning is rooted in an assumption that other residents in the region will not be welcoming and potentially combative.
“If I’m looking at our state government and I don’t see people who look like me or who act like me or who share the same values as I do, it’s an easy assumption that, because of what we’re told about democracy, these people who got into office through the means of popular vote naturally represent our entire population,” they said. “But that’s not the case. Our voter turnout in the state is incredibly low. The system is made that way. There are all of these structural reasons – getting their children to school, getting to work themselves, making sure their families are fed, and their health needs are met – why people are not able to engage in the [political process] in our state. People are too tired and too busy to vote.”
Organizations like Georgia Equality, the state’s largest and oldest LGBTQ+-centered advocacy organization, are actively working to engage, educate, and advocate. This past year, it played an integral role in helping defeat the nearly 20 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced in the state legislature by appearing regularly at the state Capitol for hearings, votes, and meetings alongside other pro-LGBTQ+ groups. The organization also leveraged the community, organizing more than 5,000 people to make calls to their representatives during the session.
“Our priority is not to leave any LGBTQ+ Georgian behind,” Noël Heatherland (they/them), statewide organizing manager for Georgia Equality, told LGBTQ Nation. “And making sure that everyone, especially those who do not live inside the bubble of the city of Atlanta, is remembered and included throughout the year, especially during a time where our civic engagement and letting our voices be heard is so important.”
The queer experience in the state’s southern region comes with its own set of issues and specific concerns, said Heatherland, a native of Albany, Georgia. While recent reports suggest that most LGBTQ+ voters are motivated to support the Democratic party and concerned about issues like restricting women’s rights and banning medical care for transgender youth, Heatherland said queer Georgians are also concerned with a lot of the same issues that impact people across various communities and demographics.
Omarion Smart agrees. A senior at Georgia State University, Smart is a native of Bainbridge, Georgia, in the southwest region. He’s also policy director for Voters of Tomorrow, a social welfare organization for Gez Z, by Gen Z. Housing, food security, and the cost of living are key issues queer voters are taking to the ballot box this November, he said. Healtherland adds queer voters in the state are also concerned about quality education for their children and the safety of their children in schools. According to the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, the LGBTQ+ population makes up about 4.7% of the population in the state of Georgia, with 27% of them having children.
“The majority of Georgians agree on these things,” Smart said. “We agree that housing should be affordable. We agree that we should have health care and that Medicare and Medicaid should be expanded. The economy. Housing. As well as the rise of transgender hate ideology and reproductive rights. They are all important issues to voters in Georgia. No one issue has priority over the other. Yet we have those in the legislature that do not reflect the population of our state, and it’s time that we change that.”
Smart’s concerns manifested this August when Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones (R) launched the Georgia Senate Special Committee on the Protection of Women’s Sports “to ensure that female athletes across Georgia have the right to compete on a fair and level playing field.” Smart believes the committee and its purpose are “disgusting.”
“It’s not even intended to learn about these issues,” Smart said. “That’s just how the politics in our state are. Their goal is to spew their blatant hate and not be called out on their hatred.”
“We have those in the legislature that do not reflect the population of our state, and it’s time that we change that.”Omarian Smart, policy director, Voters of Tomorrow
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As far as Shawn Harris is concerned, the energy behind anti-LGBTQ+ and transgender legislation by the conservative party is a smokescreen. Harris is challenging Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) for Georgia’s 14th congressional district, which includes Rome, Calhoun, and Dalton in the northwest. He said that Greene has created a narrative about the region that makes it seem problematic. Harris, however, says local voters are more focused on quality of life, including jobs and affordable housing.
“People get up every day from our area and drive either to Atlanta to go to work or they drive to Chattanooga, Tennessee. They get up every morning at 4 a.m. to beat the traffic,” Harris told LGBTQ Nation. “They’re not home when it’s time for their kids to get off from school. They’re not home for their kid’s soccer games or whatever. They do this for a good-paying job with insurance. And they need affordable housing.”
As election day gets closer, queer voters in Georgia have an impressive slate of candidates to consider: Gen Z Democrat Ashwin Ramaswamy is running for state Senate District 48, challenging Trump loyalist Shawn Still, who was indicted in the Fulton County election interference case last year; RaShaun Kemp won the Democratic primary to fill state Senate seat District 38 and is reportedly the first openly gay man elected to the state Senate; and Laura Judge is running for the County School Board, Post 5.
Rashaun Kemp. Photo via rashaunforgeorgia.com.
“The Cobb County school system has been implementing a ton of book bans against a variety of different books and also enacting discriminatory policies,” said strategist Pippin. “If she wins, control of the Cobb Board of Education would flip and stop the madness happening there. Her district is extremely competitive, and I’m cheering for her big time.”
One candidate with personal stakes is JD Jordan, running against John Albers for Georgia Senate District 56.
“He is running to protect his children from harmful state policies. The incumbent is a co-sponsor of anti-trans legislation that threatens healthcare access for JD’s children,” said Pippin. “He has five kids between the ages of 14 and 19, and two of them identify as transgender.”
Georgia Equality’s Heatherland said Albers is not cordial to LGBTQ+ people or allies and is not willing to listen to them when they are at the Capitol to discuss issues – even if they are his constituents. The district is now trending as one of the state’s most “flippable” districts.
“It’s one thing to speak up on behalf of LGBTQ+ children, and specifically transgender people, when you’re running for something in Atlanta and like 85% of the people you’re talking to agree with you,” added Pippin. “It’s another to do that in a district that is red like SD56, and JD is out here fighting that fight and helping dispel all the misinformation that is spewed about the queer community. He is the dad many of us in the community wish we had growing up.”
