there are 14 out lgbtq people in congress right now. one of them only gets four months. we checked who's on your ballot.
via Pew Research, the Washington Blade, NBC News and the outlets linked in each entry
Fourteen openly LGBTQ people serve in Congress right now: thirteen in the House and one in the Senate. This Congress opened in January 2025 with 13, per Pew Research, a number Equality PAC called a record, and a special election in Georgia added the fourteenth in September. Then the math gets messy. Four of the fourteen will not be on anybody's ballot on Nov. 3. One of the ten who will be is trying to become the first openly gay man ever elected to the Senate.
Here is every one of them, what they have said about it in their own words, and what happens to each of them on Nov. 3. Then the out candidates trying to join them.
the senate: party of one
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin
Photo: official portrait by the U.S. Senate, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain, 2013.
Baldwin was first elected to the House in 1998 and became the first openly gay person ever elected to the Senate in 2012, per NBC News and ABC News. Her election-night line: "I didn't run to make history. I ran to make a difference." In September 2026 she announced that the 988 crisis line's LGBTQ youth option was back. On Nov. 3: not up. Her term runs until 2031, per the Senate's own list.
the house, in order of arrival
Rep. Mark Takano, California
Photo: official portrait by House Creative Services, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain, 2023.
In 2012 Takano became the first openly gay person of color elected to Congress, per his House biography and The Advocate. He was outed during an early run for Congress, per The Advocate and KQED. "And in my current race not a single voter has asked me about being gay," he told The Advocate in 2012. He now chairs the Equality Caucus, per the caucus and the Washington Blade. On Nov. 3: running for re-election against Republican Steve Manos, after taking 61% to his 39% in the June primary, per Riverside County's certified results and the Blade.
Rep. Mark Pocan, Wisconsin
Photo: official portrait by the U.S. Congress, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain, 2013.
Pocan took Baldwin's old House seat in 2013, per his office and the Blade. In a 2013 RealClearPolitics interview, reposted by his office, he noted his husband's Capitol pass said only "designee," and said: "As someone who is openly gay and married, [the court case] means a lot when it comes to personal life." That May his husband became the first same-sex spouse of a House member issued a congressional spouse ID, per the Blade and WISC-TV. He chaired the Equality Caucus in 2023 and 2024, per the caucus and the Los Angeles Blade. On Nov. 3: on the ballot with no Republican running against him, per WPR and the Blade. Easiest night of anyone on this list.
Rep. Angie Craig, Minnesota
Photo: official portrait by the U.S. House, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain, 2019.
Craig became the first openly LGBTQ person Minnesota sent to Congress when she won in 2018, per the Minnesota Reformer and GO Magazine. She and her wife Cheryl have four adult sons, per her House bio. In 2023 she fought off an attacker in her building's elevator by throwing her hot coffee at him, per NPR and the Reformer. On marriage she put it plainly: "no politician, should be able to dictate what my marriage or family looks like," she said in 2022, per Sun ThisWeek. On Nov. 3: not on the ballot. She ran for Senate instead of re-election and lost the August primary to Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, per NBC News and FOX 9.
Rep. Sharice Davids, Kansas
Photo: official portrait by Kristie Boyd, U.S. House Office of Photography, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain, 2019.
In 2018 Davids, a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation and a former mixed martial arts fighter, became one of the first two Native American women in Congress and the first openly LGBTQ person Kansas ever sent there, per NBC News and the Los Angeles Blade. She told NBC where it started: "When Ellen came out on national television, it was the first time I’d ever seen an LGBT woman represented in such a prominent way." A congresswoman who can legally kick you is a very specific kind of power. On Nov. 3: running for re-election against Republican Eric Jenkins, per the Johnson County Post and KCUR.
Rep. Chris Pappas, New Hampshire
Photo: official portrait by the U.S. Congress, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain, 2019.
Pappas has been New Hampshire's first and only openly gay member of Congress since 2018, per the Blade and NHPR, which is also how his own office introduces him: "As the first openly gay member of Congress from New Hampshire." He married Vann Bentley in February 2023, per the Union Leader and The Advocate. On Nov. 3: the biggest race on this page. He won the Democratic Senate primary in September and faces Republican John E. Sununu for the open seat, per NHPR and CNBC. If he wins, he becomes the first openly gay man ever elected to the Senate, per the Blade and The Advocate.
Rep. Ritchie Torres, New York
Photo: official portrait by House Creative Services, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain, 2020.
Torres and Mondaire Jones became the first openly gay Black men elected to Congress in 2020, per the Blade, ABC7 and theGrio, and Torres the first openly gay Afro-Latino member, per the Blade and CBS New York. His coming out, as he told Metro Weekly, was the most 2000s story imaginable: "Back when I was in high school, I stumbled across the MySpace profile of a teacher. And came to discover that he was gay. And so I approached him. And when I did, I spontaneously came out." Tom would be proud. On Nov. 3: running for re-election after winning his June primary, per Norwood News and PoliticsNY.
Rep. Robert Garcia, California
Photo: official portrait by the U.S. House, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain, 2023.
The former Long Beach mayor, born in Peru, won in 2022 as the first openly LGBTQ immigrant elected to Congress, per NY1 and FOX 11. "I'm proud to be the first gay immigrant to be in Congress ever," he told NY1. For his oath he picked a photo of his parents, whom he lost to Covid, his citizenship certificate and an original Superman #1 borrowed from the Library of Congress, per BuzzFeed News and the New York Daily News. A man who picks Superman for his swearing-in understands accessorizing. On Nov. 3: running for re-election against Republican Brian Burley, per NBC News' primary results and the Blade.
Rep. Becca Balint, Vermont
Photo: official portrait by the U.S. House, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain, 2023.
Balint is the first woman and the first openly gay person Vermont ever sent to Congress, per VTDigger and CBS News. On election night she said Vermont was a place where "the daughter of an immigrant dad and a working class mom can be the first woman and the first gay person to represent Vermont in the U.S. House of Representatives." The other story she tells, per NBC News and VTDigger: a neighbor had an anti-gay sign up when she moved to town, and after a wave, a conversation and a borrowed lawn mower, "the sign came down." Death by lawn mower, Vermont-style. On Nov. 3: running for re-election against Republican Gerald Malloy, per VTDigger and WCAX.
Rep. Eric Sorensen, Illinois
Photo: official portrait by the U.S. House, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain, 2022.
Before Congress, Sorensen was a TV meteorologist in Rockford and the Quad Cities, per WGLT and the Washington Blade, and in 2022 he became the first openly gay member of Congress from Illinois, per both. Early in his career he lost a TV weather job in Texas for being gay, per the Blade and Windy City Times. He told the Blade that for a lot of people back home, "the only gay person that they knew was Eric Sorensen on channel eight." The forecast: fabulous, with a chance of committee hearings. On Nov. 3: running for re-election against Republican Dillan Vancil, per WGLT and WIFR.
Rep. Julie Johnson, Texas
Photo: official portrait by Ike Hayman, House Creative Services, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain, 2024.
Johnson won in 2024 as the first openly LGBTQ member of Congress from any Southern state, per KUT, the Houston Chronicle and Pew. Back in the Texas House, her wife, Dr. Susan Moster, became the first same-sex spouse of a Texas legislator, per KUT and the Chronicle. Asked by The Advocate about freshman Republicans who meet her family, she had one line: "It’s tough to hate up close." On Nov. 3: not on the ballot. After redistricting, she lost a Democratic runoff to her predecessor, Colin Allred, in May, per The Texas Tribune and NBC News.
Rep. Emily Randall, Washington
Photo: official portrait by Ike Hayman, House Creative Services, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain, 2024.
Randall was sworn in in January 2025 as the first out queer Latina in Congress and the first openly LGBTQ member from Washington, per NBC News, Gig Harbor Now and Pew. In her own words to Tideland, neighbors keep telling her what it means that she is "the first queer Latina ever to serve in Congress." She thanked her wife, Alison, on election night, per The Advocate. On Nov. 3: running for re-election against Republican Teresa Fox, after taking about 60% in the August primary, per the Peninsula Daily News and the Blade.
Rep. Sarah McBride, Delaware
Photo: official portrait by Ike Hayman, House Creative Services, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain, 2024.
McBride is the first openly transgender member of Congress, per NPR, CBS Philadelphia and Pew, and was the country's first openly trans state senator before that, per the Blade and NBC News. Before she was even sworn in, Rep. Nancy Mace filed a resolution to keep her out of the Capitol's women's restrooms, per NPR and ABC News. McBride's answer, per NPR and ABC7: "I’m not here to fight about bathrooms." She explained the strategy to NBC News: "it does not do the trans community any good for me to begin my career showing Republicans that they can bait me." It is still how she is playing it, all the way to a leadership bid in September 2026. On Nov. 3: running for a second term against Republican Joseph Arminio, per WHYY and Delaware Public Media.
Rep. Everton Blair, Georgia
Photo: official portrait by the U.S. House, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain, 2026.
The newest name on the list. After Rep. David Scott died in April, Blair beat Scott's daughter in an Aug. 25 special-election runoff and was sworn in Sept. 1 as Georgia's first openly gay member of Congress, per FOX 5 Atlanta, the Washington Blade and GPB. He is also the first Black gay man to serve in Congress from the South, per USA Today and Metro Weekly. "I've always been very open about who I am and using every opportunity to be a role model," he told USA Today. He came out on National Coming Out Day in 2019, while on the Gwinnett County school board, per NBC News and the Gwinnett Daily Post, and was named Atlanta Pride's 2026 honorary grand marshal, per Rough Draft Atlanta and WSB. On Nov. 3: not on the ballot. He is serving out the rest of Scott's term and is not running for a full one, per the Blade and FOX 5. Four months. We'll take it.
lgbtq candidates on the ballot nov. 3
Ten of the fourteen face voters this year. These five out nominees are trying to join them, each in a race they won their way into.
Cait Conley, New York's 17th
The combat veteran won a five-way Democratic primary in June and faces Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, per the Journal News and CBS New York. In her own words, quoted by the Human Rights Campaign: "As a lesbian who served under ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ for the first part of my military career, the fight for equality for all is incredibly important to me."
Marni von Wilpert, California's 48th
She came second in the June top-two primary and faces Republican Jim Desmond for an open seat, per NBC 7 San Diego and KPBS, which reported a poll showing it neck and neck. She told The Advocate: "When I was first coming out as openly bisexual, I got a lot of people questioning whether or not I should be in politics anymore, whether I was fit to lead."
Scott Wiener, California's 11th
The state senator is running for Nancy Pelosi's open San Francisco seat against fellow Democrat Connie Chan, after the two finished first and second in June, per ABC7 and CBS San Francisco. So a Democrat wins either way. In an essay he wrote back when he held Harvey Milk's old seat on the Board of Supervisors, republished by Equality California: "As a gay man and 19-year resident of the Castro, Pride is intensely personal for me."
J.D. Ford, Indiana's 5th
The state senator won his May primary and faces Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz, per Metro Weekly and Current. His campaign calls him "the first, and so far only, openly LGBTQ+ member of the Indiana General Assembly," which matches WFYI.
Janelle Sarauw, U.S. Virgin Islands delegate
She won the Aug. 1 Democratic primary for the territory's non-voting House seat, per the official results and the Blade. As a territorial senator in 2022, she told Virgin Islands News Online: "I am black, I am a woman and I am a lesbian and I am out and I am proud, because I believe the closet is for clothes and shoes." Somebody embroider that on a pillow.
who we left off, and why
Every person on this page said it themselves, and every entry links to where. Some candidates on other outlets' lists are described as LGBTQ by reporters, but we could not find them saying it in their own words on a page we could read, so they are not here yet. That is our rule, not a judgment on them. We will update this page the week after the election with who won. Spotted an error? Tell us.
