LGBTQ election victories finally give progressives something to celebrate

A glimmer of progressive hope has risen out of the Trump-inspired darkness. In Tuesday's off-year elections, LGBTQ candidates — particularly transgender candidates — received historic victories across the country.

"The biggest story out of last night is that 2017 is the year of the transgender candidate," said Elliot Imse, director of communications for the Victory Fund, an organization promoting LGBTQ representation in government.

LGBTQ candidates were part of a larger trend of Democratic wins across the country. Democratic governors were elected in New Jersey and Virginia, and democrats made significant gains in the Virginia House of Delegates.

People of color throughout the U.S. also saw historic wins in local races, from mayors to state legislatures to school boards — many defeating Republican incumbents.

Elizabeth Guzman and Hala Ayala became Virginia's first-ever Latina state representatives. New Jersey's first Sikh mayor, Ravinder Bhalla, was elected mayor of Hoboken. Vi Lyles is the first black woman elected mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina; Kathy Tran is the first Asian-American woman to be elected to the Virginia House of Delegates; and Melvin Carter was elected the first black mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

LGBTQ candidates are a particularly underrepresented group in politics. According to Imse, people who identify as LGBTQ comprise less than .1 percent of elected officials nationwide, despite making up about 4.1 percent of the population as a whole. And transgender representation is even more sparse.

According to Imse, there are currently only six "openly elected trans officials serving in the entire country." That means Tuesday's wins have nearly doubled transgender representation among elected officials across the U.S.

"To have four or five wins last night was huge for our community," Imse said. "And really will be a turning point in the trans movement for equality."

However, while the victories in terms of representation are huge, Imse and the Victory Fund attribute the wins to the strength of the candidates themselves.

"When we are in the room, it humanizes our lives, it changes the debate, and it results in more inclusive policies," Imse said on the importance of LGBTQ elected officials. "Really what comes out of last night for us is that voters are more than happy to choose a trans candidate when that trans candidate is willing to address the issues they care about."

Here are some of the historic wins in LGBTQ representation from the Nov. 7 election.

Danica Roem

Elected to Virginia House of Delegates.

Roem is Virginia's first openly transgender state lawmaker, and will be the first openly trans candidate to serve in a state legislature.

Andrea Jenkins

Elected to Minneapolis City Council.

Jenkins is the first openly trans woman ever elected to the city council of a major U.S. city. According to the Victory Fund, she'll also be the only open trans person of color currently serving in elected office anywhere in the nation.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Another transgender candidate, Phillipe Cunningham, also ran for Minneapolis City Council. The results are still too close to call at the time of writing.

Jenny Durkan

Elected Mayor of Seattle, Washington.

Durkan is Seattle's first openly lesbian mayor, and is the city's first female mayor since the 1920s.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Zachary DeWolf

Elected to Seattle School Board.

DeWolf is the first openly LGBTQ member of the Seattle School Board.

Lisa Middleton

Elected to Palm Springs City Council.

Middleton is the first openly trans person to win a legislative seat in the state of California.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Tyler Titus

Elected to Erie School Board, Pennsylvania.

Titus is the first openly trans person ever elected in the state of Pennsylvania.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Congrats to our country's newly elected officials, and cheers to more progress in 2018.