It was a long night, and we still don't know all of the election results, but here's what we do know:  the LGBTQ+ community showed up at the polls and on the ballots! 

According to a recent report by the Human Rights Campaign, in the 2022 Midterm election, LGBTQ+ identified people accounted for one-in ten (11.3%) people in the voting eligible population in the United States. By 2030 approximately one-in-seven voters will identify as LGBTQ+. 

For the first time in the nation's history, Americans from all 50 states and the District of Columbia had the opportunity to elect an LGBTQ+ person to public office during the 2022 elections. Some noteworthy statistics: 

• According to early exit polling, LGBTQ+ voters turned out in larger numbers than in previous midterm elections and supported pro-equality candidates in high numbers. 
• Voters in Massachusetts elected their first openly lesbian governor - Maura Healey. 
• In Vermont, Becca Balint is the first woman and the first lesbian from the state to head to Congress. 
• Jared Polis claimed victory in Colorado, becoming the first openly gay man to be elected then re-elected to a governorship in the US. 
• Maryland elected Wes More as their first Black governor. He is also a strong LGBTQ+ ally. 
• Numerous transgender and non-binary people were elected to public office, including Sarah McBride as a state senator in Delaware, and James Rosener, who became the first trans man elected to any state legislature. He now represents New Hampshire’s 22nd state House District, Ward 8. 
• In a special election earlier this year, Keturah Herron became the first out LGBTQ+ person ever elected to the Kentucky State House. In the midterms, Herron ran for reelection unopposed. 
• Christian Manuel-Hayes and Venton Jones have become the first out Black LGBTQ+ men ever elected to the Texas state legislature. 
• Jason Hoskins has the distinction of being the first out LGBTQ+ person of color elected to Michigan’s state legislature. 

We know that state legislatures will continue to try to pass anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. But your votes for representatives who support equality for ALL Americans is a strong reminder that LGBTQ+ people exist everywhere, and we will continue to work toward nondiscrimination protections in every aspect of our lives.