From Salon · Dimitrios Aletras Jr. · · 1m 40s
Gay candidates win where impossible
Openly gay candidates flip red seats in 2026 midterms despite anti-LGBTQ+ backlash.
In brief
Openly gay candidates flip red seats in 2026 midterms despite anti-LGBTQ+ backlash. Gay candidates won key races in New Hampshire, Indiana, and Texas despite anti-LGBTQ+ campaigns, showing voters reject using gay identity as a campaign weapon. Originally reported by Salon.
Gay candidates win key races
Chris Pappas became first openly gay U.S. Senator in New Hampshire, and J.D. Ford won Indiana legislature seat.
Texas Democrat wins despite anti-LGBTQ+ ads
James Talarico beat Ken Paxton to become first Democrat statewide winner in Texas in over thirty years.
Long Island candidate nearly flips seat
Chris Gallant came within two points of flipping a Republican seat after private photos were leaked.
Gallant refuses to accept shame
Gallant called his Republican opponent a brother in arms and refused to let the photo leak define him.
Anti-LGBTQ+ backlash shifts
Voters approved measures to bar transgender girls from girls’ sports in Arizona and Nebraska.
The same movement targets trans youth
The political movement that targeted gay men now focuses on transgender youth in four states.
Historic shift in voter behavior
Voters no longer use gay identity as a campaign weapon to win elections.
The movement adapts its target
The political movement that has learned it can no longer win by hating gay men has updated its target to trans youth.
The fear moves to trans children
The fear of gay men has shifted to trans children in locker rooms.
The split screen reality
The victory for gay candidates comes with a cost for trans youth.
The question for the future
Will the movement get a new weapon or finally stop using it?
The one thing
Gay candidates won key races in New Hampshire, Indiana, and Texas despite anti-LGBTQ+ campaigns, showing voters reject using gay identity as a campaign weapon.
