Arizona primary voters have chosen the contestants in the open U.S. Senate election. Democratic candidate Rubén Gallego will face off against Kari Lake, a Republican. Gallego is a former U.S. Marine and is the current U.S. representative for Arizona’s 3rd congressional district. Lake, a former TV news anchor and failed 2022 gubernatorial candidate, refused to accept the results of the governor’s race which she lost to Katie Hobbs.
Earlier this year, GLAAD released the findings of a poll gauging motivation and top issues ahead of the 2024 general election in November. The nationwide survey polled both LGBTQ adults and registered voters (including both LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ). In a generic vote preference for Congress, LGBTQ likely voters prefer a Democratic candidate by +63 percentage points nationwide (77% Democrat / 14% Republican) and by +67 percentage points in the seven most competitive states with U.S. Senate races: Arizona, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin (79% Democrat / 12% Republican).
More than a quarter million LGBTQ people live in Arizona. Twenty-five percent of LGBTQ people in Arizona are raising children. Analysis shows LGBTQ voters played a deciding role in the 2020 election, flipping the Senate to a pro-equality majority. And estimates show that by 2040, 1 in 5 voters in the state will be LGBTQ. Arizona lacks comprehensive statewide protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in areas such as employment, housing, and public accommodations.
GLAAD urges the media to include LGBTQ issues in their questions to candidates, and consider them when covering the campaign. Research on the candidates’ records on abortion is also included, as abortion is an LGBTQ issue. In the general election on November 5, Arizona voters will also get to choose whether to add the right to an abortion to the state constitution.
Research on the candidates’ LGBTQ records includes:
Rubén Gallego (D), U.S. Representative (above, left)
—Serves as a Vice-Chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus. In this role, he assists in promoting and protecting LGBTQ equality in Congress.
—Consistently supports LGBTQ rights, including co-sponsoring the Equality Act to provide comprehensive federal protections for LGBTQ people.
—Advocates for transgender rights, opposing bans on gender-affirming care and supporting transgender individuals’ right to serve in the military.
—Voted in favor of the Respect for Marriage Act, which provides federal protections for same-sex and interracial marriages.
—As a member of the Arizona State House in 2014, Gallego helped lead the opposition to a dangerous expansion of Arizona’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which could have granted a broad license to discriminate against LGBTQ people.
—Has maintained a perfect 100 score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Congressional Scorecard, which measures members’ of Congress support for LGBTQ equality.
—Spoke out against the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy while serving in the Marines.
—Led efforts to fight against Proposition 107, a same-sex marriage ban in Arizona.
—Works to ensure that LGBTQ veterans who were discharged due to their sexual orientation or gender identity receive the VA benefits they’ve earned.
—A vocal defender of abortion rights and has pledged to be “an unwavering defender of reproductive rights in the U.S. Senate.”
—Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Gallego expressed outrage and called for action to codify abortion rights at the federal level.
Kari Lake (R), former TV news anchor and 2022 gubernatorial candidate (above, right)
—Says she has gay friends who are “appalled with the ‘BTQ+’ [bisexual, transgender, and queer] everything they keep adding to it.” Has stated that those same gay friends would oppose a nondiscrimination bill protecting them statewide, and says, “Sane, hard working gay men and women are fed up with being held hostage by the alphabet mafia.”
—Criticized schools that teach students about gender identity, stating that they are promoting “confusion.” “This is why it is so important… for people to run for school board, some people with sanity who aren’t going to push this on our children,” said Lake. “Can you imagine back while we were going to school if a teacher would have been talking about all of this crazy stuff? Gender identity? It’s just so lunatic.”
—Tweeted, “A child’s gender is determined by God at conception, NOT by some Woke Teacher in the 3rd grade. This insanity must end,” falsely implying that schools are somehow responsible for creating transgender youth.
—Falsely accused President Joe Biden of promoting “grooming” during an interview with former Trump cabinet member Steve Bannon, claiming Biden is “withholding National School Lunch Program Funds from schools that don’t adopt his perverted sexual agenda.”
—Scapegoated the LGBTQ community, writing, “They kicked God out of schools and welcomed the Drag Queens. They took down our Flag and replaced it with a rainbow. They seek to disarm Americans and militarize our Enemies. Let’s bring back the basics: God, Guns & Glory.”
—LGBTQ Arizonans who know Lake complained that her anti-LGBTQ turn is hurtful and “for political gain.” “[Kari Lake is] friends with drag queens,” Richard Stevens, who performs under the stage name Barbra Seville, told The Arizona Republic. “She’s had her kid in front of a drag queen. I’ve done drag in her home for her friends and family. She’s not threatened by them. She would come to shows constantly. To make me be the bogeyman for political gain, it was just too much.” Stevens posted older photos with Lake on his drag Instagram, including a photo of Lake in drag herself.
—Endorsed anti-Semite, anti-immigrant, and anti-LGBTQ candidate Jarrin Jackson, who is running for a seat in the Oklahoma state Senate, before rescinding her endorsement following an intense public backlash. Jackson has said “the Jews” are evidence that “evil exists,” and characterized being LGBTQ as a “gateway to pedophilia.”
—Signaled support for Arizona’s 15-week abortion ban, saying she would “follow the law” if elected as governor.
—Been a prominent figure in election denialism, particularly following her loss in the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial race. Lake raised $2.5 million after Election Day, largely from supporters outside Arizona who responded to her claims that the election was stolen from her. She consistently refused to concede, asserting that the election was “one of the most dishonest” in Arizona’s history.
—Filed multiple lawsuits attempting to overturn the election results, alleging issues such as improper signature verification and faulty voting machines. These lawsuits have been consistently rejected by the courts.