POLITICS
Out House Incumbents Hold on; Dem Majority Shrinks
Democrats underperform expectations, but queer representation ticks up slightly
BY MATT TRACY
Democrats in US House
races appear to have
underperformed in
many districts across
the nation and anti-LGBTQ candidates
put up a strong showing in
New York State, but queer incumbents
largely stood their ground
and Democrats will likely retain
control of the lower chamber after
the 2020 election.
Queer insurgents, however,
largely struggled — outside of New
York State, that is — and House
Democrats as a whole were not
able to expand their 232-197 edge
over Republicans the way they
hoped heading into the election.
Sitting Democrats were unexpectedly
picked off by Republicans in
several states, including Virginia
and Florida, and the GOP eked
out victories in a collection of tight
races.
There were, indeed, two notable
bright spots for LGBTQ insurgents
— right here in New York. Out
gay Bronx City Councilmember
Ritchie Torres, running in the the
15th Congressional District, was
elected as the fi rst out gay Afro-
Latinx member of Congress, while
Mondaire Jones won his race in
the 17th Congressional District
and becomes the fi rst out gay
Black member of Congress. Both of
those victories were expected after
those candidates won contentious
primary elections in Democratic
strongholds.
But those crucial victories by
queer candidates coincided with
a wave of positive results for anti-
LGBTQ Republican candidates
loyal to President Donald Trump,
including in New York City and
across the state. Many of the tight
races were in districts that gradually
shifted toward Democrats in
2018, but appear to have ticked
back in favor of Republicans.
Notably, the results are still being
tallied and a large sum of absentee
ballots have yet to be counted.
Incumbent Congressmember
Max Rose of Staten Island and
Military veteran Gina Ortiz Jones would have been the fi rst out LGBTQ person elected to Congress from
Texas.
Before counting absentee ballots, Staten Island Republican Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis has
amassed a big lead over incumbent Congressmember Max Rose.
Brooklyn, mired in an overheated
battle for reelection in New York
City’s only swing House district,
is far behind anti-LGBTQ Assemblymember
Nicole Malliotakis
— more than 15 points, a margin
diffi cult to imagine being able to
close even with absentee ballots
pending.
Another incumbent, Long Island
Republican Congressmember Lee
Zeldin, whose transphobia and homophobia
dates back to his time
in the State Senate and has continued
on Capitol Hill, is leading
by more than 60,000 votes, or approximately
22 points, over Stony
Brook University scientist Nancy
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Goroff in New York’s First Congressional
District. For now, that margin
exceeds Zeldin’s 16-point victory
four years ago during the last
presidential election cycle. Zeldin
has declared victory in that race,
but Goroff is insisting that all absentee
votes should be counted.
Also on Long Island, anti-LGBTQ
Republican Assemblymember
Andrew Garbarino beat Democrat
Jackie Gordon in the open seat to
replace outgoing Republican Congressmember
Peter King.
Meanwhile, in upstate New
York’s 22nd Congressional District,
former Congressmember Claudia
Tenney — a close Trump ally who
was knocked out of Congress by
Democrat Anthony Brindisi two
years ago — is up by 11 points,
putting her in a strong position to
retain the seat she lost two years
ago.
Out bisexual candidate Tracy
Mitrano was handily defeated by
Republican Congressmember Tom
Reed, who is leading by nearly a
two-to-one margin in upstate New
York’s 23rd Congressional District
two years after she unsuccessfully
challenged him in the midterm
elections. Reed declared victory on
election night, but Mitrano has yet
to concede.
Outside of New York, many queer
candidates fell short in their historic
bids for House seats. Georgette
Gomez of California would have
been the fi rst out LGBTQ Latinx
woman elected to Congress, but is
down by nearly 20 points to fellow
Democrat Sara Jacobs. In another
Democrat versus Democrat general
election matchup in Washington
State’s 10th Congressional District,
out bisexual state lawmaker
Beth Doglio is trailing former Tacoma
Mayor Marilyn Strickland by
more than 16 points.
In the Midwest, out LGBTQ
South Bend attorney Pat Hackett
appears to have been routed by
Republican Jackie Walorski, who
has built an impressive 64.7 to
35.3 percent lead in Indiana’s Second
District, while Michigan state
lawmaker Jon Hoadley was unable
to overcome a homophobic smear
campaign leveled by his opponent,
17-term Representative Fred Upton
of the Sixth District, who is 20
points ahead of the Democrat after
running ads that implied Hoadley
is a pedophile and uses crystal
meth, among other outlandish
claims.
Down in Texas, out lesbian military
veteran Gina Ortiz Jones, vying
for the seat in the 23rd District,
seemingly lost a closer race in her
quest to become the fi rst Filipina-
American in Congress and the
fi rst out LGBTQ person elected to
Congress from Texas. The Associ-
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