ASBURY PARK — The Garden State Equality Action Fund, New Jersey’s largest LGBTQ+ advocacy and education organization, congratulates all pro-equality candidates who ran, either with a win or not, in Tuesday’s general election.
The Garden State Equality Action Fund released over 100 endorsements in September and October, for candidates at all levels: school board, county offices, municipal offices, and federal representatives. Of these candidates, 83% of Garden State Equality’s endorsees were successful in their election bids on Tuesday; with 4 additional races too close to call right now.
“Our endorsees represent the best hope we have for moving forward in the pursuit of safety and prosperity for our LGBTQ+ communities, both locally and nationally. The victories of Zack Mullock and Rebecca Bennett give us great hope; that candidates can successfully run against MAGA acolytes without further marginalization of our trans community; and to the contrary, can strengthen the safety net that New Jersey is growing every day against the Trump administration,” said Lauren Albrecht, Senior Director of Advocacy and Organizing.
“Our endorsement process rigorously questions a candidate’s commitment and plan to enhance the wellbeing of our community, with specific questions tailored to what the responsibilities and possibilities are for each office. Because of the rigorous process, and the thoughtful answers provided by each endorsed candidate, we are confident that these endorsees will work consistently for our community. And we’re prepared to offer support, education and encouragement to make that happen, and prepared to demand accountability when it doesn’t,” continued Albrecht.
Along with the unseating of anti-LGBTQ+ Congressmen Tom Kean Jr and Jeff Van Drew, Garden State Equality endorsed several other historic and valuable wins, such as the Monmouth County slate of Cherry for Surrogate and Tanner and Ugarte for Commissioner; Chris Russo for Morris County Commissioner, Atlantic County’s Lisa Bender for Clerk and Kyle Gornick for Commissioner, and Asbury Park’s first lesbian Mayor, Amy Quinn.
Acting Executive Director Brielle Winslow-Majette addressed the need for our federal representatives, and our state legislators, to continue showing up proactively for our LGBTQ+ New Jerseyans, saying:
“On Tuesday, we saw that standing with LGBTQ+ people, especially our trans youth, will never be a losing strategy- in fact, a record-breaking number of LGBTQ+ candidates were elected to office, from the deep south where Allison Montgomery ousted a conservative incumbent to become Alabama’s first transgender legislator, to New Hampshire, where Chris Pappas was elected to serve as the US’s first openly-gay Senator, to Sharice Davids’ Kansas congressional win. Even Ron DeSantis admitted it- the manufactured and inhumane vilification of our trans family is at best, an ineffective campaign strategy, but we know that it’s something far more insidious than that- and unfortunately, it took many voters too long to see it too.”
As reported by Erin in the Morning this week, notoriously anti-LGBTQ+ Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, in the wake of a wave of GOP losses, said “I knew Republicans were in trouble when I was reading an overview about what they were running ads on, and they’re spending hundreds of millions on transgender ads… That was not the issue motivating voters, and it was kind of an attempt to just scare Republicans to vote.”
Winslow-Majette also noted that “None of our endorsed candidates for Congress responded to any pressure to take anti-trans positions, unlike some successful candidates in other states, and that doesn’t go unnoticed- human rights and dignity are not up for discussion, and we’re proud to endorse candidates that recognize that simple fact. And in this new session of Congress, which will include at least 17 openly-LGBTQ+ members, we urge all New Jersey representatives to join the Congressional Equality Caucus.” The Congressional Equality Caucus already includes returning New Jersey members Rep. Herb Conaway, Rep. Josh Gottheimer, Rep. LaMonica McIver, Rep. Analilia Mejia, Rep. Rob Menendez, Rep. Frank Pallone, and Rep. Donald Norcross. Outgoing Congresswoman, and unequivocal LGBTQ+ champion Bonnie Watson-Coleman was also an Equality Caucus member.