GLAAD CEO ON PRO-EQUALITY MAJORITY RETURNING TO U.S. SENATE

“It’s clear that Americans are ready to turn the page on extremism and will punish candidates at the ballot box who campaign on taking rights away.”

November 12, 2022 – GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, is responding to news that a majority of pro-equality Senators will maintain control of the U.S. Senate.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada was re-elected as was Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona last night, resulting in a pro-equality majority. The runoff race in Georgia between incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker, happening now through December 6th, would either expand the majority or have no impact on control of the Senate.

Statement and tweet from Sarah Kate Ellis, President & CEO of GLAAD
“With the results of House control still undetermined, LGBTQ people and other marginalized communities can rest a little easier knowing that a pro-equality majority is projected to return to the U.S. Senate. This is especially critical for the next two years in order to ensure that pro-equality judicial nominees continue to be confirmed along with basic protections being passed for LGBTQ people, abortion rights and voting rights. It’s clear that Americans are ready to turn the page on extremism and candidates who campaign on taking rights away. We must thank young people — large numbers of whom are LGBTQ — women, and voters of color for defying the odds of history.”

The pro-equality Senate confirmed a record number of federal judges for a first term president, the vast majority, 76%, were women, and included the first out lesbians appointed and confirmed to the federal bench, and the first Black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Nevada voters are also projected to approve Question 1, which asked whether to add to Nevada’s state constitution language to prohibit discrimination based on “race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, ancestry, or national origin.” The victory makes Nevada’s law the most comprehensive and far-reaching state-level Equal Rights Amendment in the nation.

Ahead of the election, GLAAD released a compilation of resources highlighting what’s at stake for voters who care about LGBTQ-related issues in this year’s midterm elections. The resources include comprehensive fact-checking and background on candidates in elections in key battleground races in Nevada, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Ohio, and Arizona. GLAAD’s Guide to the LGBTQ Issues for the 2022 Election is here. GLAAD also gathered information on voter registration and deadlines for LGBTQ and ally voters at www.glaad.org/vote.

Polling and turnout analysis from the 2020 election indicates that LGBTQ voters played a deciding role in the victory of Joe Biden for President and in battleground states and districts that made the deciding difference in key races that determined control of the U.S. Senate and House.

Yet in at least five separate televised debates in key battleground states in the past month LGBTQ issues were discussed only once, among the U.S. Senate candidates in Ohio. GLAAD urges the media to include LGBTQ people and issues in their coverage of the election campaign, and ask the candidates about their public statements, policies and proposals for LGBTQ Americans, including in debates. Research on candidates’ policies and statements about LGBTQ issues is included below. Abortion is also an issue which impacts LGBTQ people disproportionately. Lesbians were more likely to have experienced an unwanted pregnancy (at 39%) than both their straight (27%) and bisexual (29%) peers.

In addition to work alongside local state equality groups, throughout election season, GLAAD aired two paid broadcast and digital ads highlighting what’s at stake in this election particularly in the areas of same-sex couples’ freedom to marry and transgender rights. GLAAD’s “Vote With Pride” series ran on social media throughout October and November. The series featured Wilson Cruz in conversation with Voto Latino’s President and CEO Maria Teresa Kumar; actor and director Billy Porter and Color of Change President Rashad Robinson; GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis with Planned Parenthood Action Fund President Alexis McGill Johnson; Family Equality’s new CEO Stacey Stevenson; former Mayor of Houston and current President and CEO of The LGBTQ Victory Fund, Annise Parker, and others. The series featured LGBTQ artists in conversation with leaders and advocates in order to inform voters about issues that matter; and to elevate LGBTQ voices in conversations about the 2022 campaign. GLAAD has also been releasing a series of “Say I Vote” videos from celebrities such as Ariana DeBose, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Cody Rigsby, and more expressing their commitment to vote and urging others to do so as well.

Vote With Pride Video Series links:

• Wilson Cruz in conversation with Voto Latino’s President & CEO Maria Teresa Kuma
• Billy Porter and Color of Change President Rashad Robinson
• Planned Parenthood Action Fund President Alexis McGill Johnson and GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis 
• Family Equality CEO Stacey Stevenson and GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis
• LGBTQ Victory Fund President Annise Parker and GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis