EQUALITY VIRGINIA AND GLAAD RELEASE LGBTQ RECORDS OF CANDIDATES FOR GOVERNOR, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, AND ATTORNEY GENERAL OF VIRGINIA

Reporters urged to include LGBTQ records and voices in all campaign coverage mentioning LGBTQ people and topics

(Richmond, VA and New York, NY – September 18, 2025) Equality Virginia, the leading LGBTQ advocacy organization in Virginia, and GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, are releasing the LGBTQ records of the major party candidates for Governor of Virginia, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears and former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, as well as the LGBTQ records of the candidates for Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General, all on the ballot this year.

Virginia hosts one of two high profile elections this year, alongside New Jersey, which also elects a new governor. [New Jersey candidates’ LGBTQ records are available here.]

LGBTQ topics and people are again in the campaign conversation and in campaign ads.

LGBTQ people make up nearly 4% of the population of Virginia, according to the Williams Institute. 26% of LGBTQ Virginians are raising children.

Early voting begins in Virginia on September 19th and runs through November 2nd. Early voting locations available here.

LGBTQ records of the candidates on the Virginia ballot this year are available here.

Earle-Sears’ LGBTQ record includes:

• Refused to say whether she would support a ban on marriage equality in Virginia if the US Supreme Court overturned the 2015 Obergefell ruling that legalized it nationwide.
• Included a handwritten note on Virginia’s HB 174 in March 2024 which stated that she remained “morally opposed” to the bill, despite being constitutionally required to sign it as Lieutenant Governor. HB 174 prohibits officials from denying marriage licenses based on sex, gender, or race.
• Delivered the 2025 commencement address at Regent University, a Christian college that describes “homosexual conduct” as “indecent” and “obscene”
• Opposed workplace protections for gay people, same-sex couples adopting children, and stated she believes homosexuality is an “immoral lifestyle choice.”
• Made inaccurate claims about transgender people at school board hearings in districts that refused the US Department of Education’s demand to end policies supporting and protecting transgender students.
• Misgendered Virginia State Sen. Danica Roem, a transgender woman, during a session of the Virginia Senate in February 2024, deliberately referring to her as “sir.” Sen. Roem is the first out transgender state senator in Virginia.

Spanberger’s LGBTQ record includes:

• Campaign website promises protection of every Virginian, including LGBTQ Virginians
• Supporter of marriage equality and supports the removal of a dormant state ban: “All Virginians deserve the freedom to marry and for their families to be welcomed in our Commonwealth without the shadow of an outdated and unconstitutional ban on marriage equality lingering in Virginia’s Constitution.”
• Voted for the Respect for Marriage Act in 2022, which codified recognition of marriage equality for same-sex couples and couples of different races.
• Cosponsored and voted for the Equality Act three times, which aimed to expand federal civil rights protections for LGBTQ Americans in access to credit, employment, housing, jury service, and public accommodations.
• Member of the House LGBT Equality Caucus in 2023 during the 118th Congress.
  

State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi and radio host John Reid are the major party candidates for Lt. Governor of Virginia. The Lt. Governor is part of the executive branch of government and serves as president of the state Senate, casting tie-breaking votes in the General Assembly and prioritizing legislation.

Hashmi’s LGBTQ record includes:

• Stated she is “fully committed” to protecting the rights of LBGTQ people in the workplace
• Voted in support of a bill to ban so-called “conversion therapy” as well as safeguards for transgender students in schools, local nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people, nonbinary gender markers on Virginia driver’s licenses, and the Virginia Values Act, enacted in 2020, which prohibits anti-LGBTQ discrimination in housing, employment, credit, and public accommodations.
• As chair of the Senate Public Education Subcommittee, supported protections for LGBTQ students and criticized colleagues for “intentionally targeting LGBTQ students” and for “fear-mongering around critical educational curricula that broadens our students’ understanding of the complexities of the world in which they live. These bills targeted LGBTQ students and students of color.”

Reid’s LGBTQ record includes:

• Pledged that if efforts to enshrine reproductive rights, voting rights and same-sex marriage rights into Virginia’s constitution met a tie in the Senate chamber, he would break it by voting them all down.
• Campaign website denies the existence of transgender people and identity.
• Told the Washington Blade: “I do think that our current focus on trans issues is where the gay rights movement has jumped the shark.”
• Appeared with gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears to oppose protections for LGBTQ students at a school board hearing in Fairfax County, stating: “This is abusive… and this should not be happening in the schools.”

Former State Delegate Jay Jones and current Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares are the major party candidates running for Attorney General of Virginia. The Attorney General is responsible for enforcing state and federal laws.

Jones’ LGBTQ record includes:

• Stated that school policies protecting students including LGBTQ students “should be decided locally, and that neither politicians in Richmond nor Washington should be telling local communities and parents what to do.”
• Co-sponsored bills prohibiting the denial or limitation of coverage based on gender identity, prohibition of LGBTQ+ discrimination, and an amendment to existing non-discrimination law to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
• Supported repealing the “gay panic” murder defense, repealing Virginia’s statutory same-sex marriage ban, authorizing replacement birth certificates for transgender peopleindividuals, requiring certain transgender-inclusive student policies in schools, and banning the practice of so-called “conversion therapy” on minors.
• Promises to “make protecting civil rights a true priority for the Attorney General’s Office” including creating a Civil Rights Division to protect Virginians’ basic rights.

Miyares’ LGBTQ record includes:

• Agreed to a consent decree in a lawsuit preventing the state from enforcing a ban on so-called “conversion therapy.”
• Joined a multi-state effort to stop expansions of protections under Title IX from going into effect, calling the changes a “dangerous overhaul” of Title IX and claiming they would negatively impact students, families and schools in the commonwealth.
• Abstained from voting on a “conversion therapy” ban; voted against safeguards for transgender students in schools, local nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people, nonbinary gender markers on Virginia driver’s licenses, and the Virginia Values Act, enacted in 2020, which prohibits anti-LGBTQ discrimination
• Sent a letter to Costco urging them to end their DEI practices, along with 18 other attorneys general. Costco shareholders voted overwhelmingly to reject a review of DEI practices in January 2025.

Quote from Narissa Rahaman (she/her), Executive Director of Equality Virginia:
“Now more than ever, Virginia needs leaders who will represent the will of the people and defend equality in our state. Our voter guide in partnership with GLAAD makes clear where exactly statewide candidates stand on LGBTQ issues so voters can make informed choices about who will fight for our families and freedoms. Virginia voters are paying attention and we will work to keep them informed as they head to cast their ballot during one of the most critical elections for LGBTQ people in Virginia history.”

Quote from Sarah Kate Ellis (she/her), President and CEO of GLAAD:
“Every family in Virginia deserves to be seen, heard, and treated with the same dignity and respect by the candidates running and the reporters covering the races. LGBTQ people are part of families and communities in every corner of the Commonwealth, and the issues that affect our lives are the same ones that affect all families—jobs, healthcare, safety, and opportunity. Voters deserve fair and complete coverage of where candidates stand, and that means campaign reporting must reflect the full reality of Virginia families, including ours.”

About Equality Virginia
Equality Virginia is a 501(c)(3) organization that advocates and organizes across Virginia to build a future where all LGBTQ+ people thrive. For more information, please visit www.equalityvirginia.org or follow @equalityva on social media.