A Sliver Lining

Well there was a sliver lining in the elections last week… we won.

Despite Trump’s election, a glimmer of hope as transgender candidates win elections nationwide

“There is this paradox where a majority of Americans voted for Trump, who is extremely anti-trans, and yet many Americans also voted for out transgender candidates and in favor of LGBTQ rights in referendums,” A4TE executive director Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen told The Advocate.

Advocate

By Christopher Wiggins

November 07 2024

In a year dominated by anti-transgender messaging from Republican campaigns and the reelection of former President Donald Trump, a record number of transgender candidates celebrated historic wins across the United States after Tuesday’s election. These victories, ranging from the first out transgender person elected to Congress to historic firsts in state and local governments, have sparked hope and optimism among LGBTQ+ advocates who see these results as proof of growing support for equality.

I have already written about the election of McBride to the House last week.

In addition to McBride’s groundbreaking victory, transgender candidates won significant races across the country. In Kentucky, Emma Curtis made history as the state’s first out transgender elected official, winning a seat on the County Council for Lexington-Fayette District 4. Minnesota’s Leigh Finke retained her seat in the state House of Representatives for District 66A. Zooey Zephyr, once banned from the floor of the state legislature for speaking out for trans rights, was reelected to represent Montana’s House District 100, while Kim Coco Iwamoto won a seat in Hawaii’s state legislature.

Other notable wins include Brianna Titone, reelected to the Colorado House of Representatives, and Jennifer Williams, who secured a position on the Trenton City Council in New Jersey. Evelyn Rios Stafford was reelected as Justice of the Peace in Washington County, Arkansas, and Jo Miller won a seat on the City Council in Woodbury, New Jersey. In Illinois, Precious Brady-Davis was elected to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Board of Commissioners in Chicago, while Vered Meltzer won a seat on the Appleton City Council in Wisconsin, and Alice Wade was elected to the New Hampshire State House.

You know that this is amazing that they won in this election, what does it say about the voters? The people don’t hate us, they didn’t vote against us, they voted for the Republican economics’ policies. Besides these candidates there were other victories, GLAAD reported…

Aime Wichtendahl will become Iowa’s first transgender state lawmaker after voters in Iowa House District 80, which covers northern portions of Cedar Rapids up through Hiawatha and Robins, elected the Democrat to fill an open seat.

[…]

Wick Thomas, who just won their election as Missouri State Representative for the state’s House District 19, is the first out nonbinary person elected to the Missouri legislature.

The election also showed we are not the ogre that they are trying to make us out as, it showed that the voters have no problem electing us to office.

NBC News wrote,

The LGBTQ+ Victory Fund endorsed and tracked 477 of the LGBTQ candidates who made it to the general election. As of Friday afternoon, about three-quarters of those races had been called, with LGBTQ candidates having a success rate of approximately 80%.

“Candidates performed very well overall on election night, with historic firsts in many key races and increased representation in the U.S. House and retaining presence in the U.S. Senate,” Sean Meloy, vice president of political programs for LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, told NBC News. “These wins are hopeful, especially as their voices in federal government will be critical under the next administration.”

[…]

LGBTQ candidates won elections to at least 37 state legislatures this year, according to the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, and several were historic firsts. Three state legislatures — those of Hawaii, Iowa and Missouri — will welcome their first out trans members with Kim Coco Iwamoto, Aime Wichtendahl and Wick Thomas, respectively. Iwamoto and Thomas are the first out trans people elected to any statewide office in their states.

These results are a ray of hope in an otherwise bleak elections.

 

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My prediction: The Post Office will see massive cuts designed to cripple it so that private companies can cash in on the by businesses