New York Democrats are first openly black gay men to be elected to Congress

Ritchie Torres and Mondaire Jones are the first black gay men to be elected to Congress
AP
April Roach @aprilroach284 November 2020

Two New York Democrats have made history by becoming the first openly gay black men to be elected to Congress.

Ritchie Torres, of Afro-Latino heritage, won his seat in the South Bronx while Mondaire Jones won his race for a seat spanning Westchester and Rockland County.

Mr Jones won the vote of 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who said she “of course” voted for him in Tuesday’s poll.

Mr Torres beat 13 other candidates for congressman Jose Serrano’s seat in the 15th District, from which he was retiring.  Among the  candidates was Ruben Diaz Senior, who supports Donald Trump and expressed anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage policy positions.  

The newly-elected candidate, Mr Jones, previously told CBS that the possibility of being one of two openly gay Black men elected to Congress was “a lot of responsibility."

“I'm happy to be providing that kind of representation for so many young people and older people all throughout my district and all throughout this country who have reached out to me and said, 'I'm so inspired by what you're doing. You give me hope and I can be my authentic self in a world filled with so much injustice,' and it's really an honour to be able to do that,” he said.

Several other LGBTQ+ records have been broken across the country during the 2020 US election.

Linnae Goswami Maher, holding son Christian, speaks to Democratic candidate Mondaire Jones as he campaigns on Election Day
AP

Democrat Sarah McBride won the race for the Senate in Delaware in Tuesday’s general election, making her the first transgender person to hold office in the state’s upper chamber.

While there are a handful of other transgender legislators around the country, she is the first transgender person to hold the office of state senator.

She joins several LGBTQ+ “firsts” elected on Tuesday, with the first Native American transgender person elected to office, and the first out non-binary person elected to state legislature. 

Following her win, Ms McBride said on Twitter: “To anyone who worries that their truth and their dreams are mutually exclusive, know that change is possible. Know that your voice matters. Know that you can do this, too.

“I hope tonight shows an LGBTQ kid that our democracy is big enough for them, too.”

In Kansas, retired teacher Stephanie Byers has won her race for the state house of representatives.

Mrs Byers, a member of the Chickasaw Nation, is believed to be the first Native American transgender person elected to office across the nation.

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Mauree Turner also broke a US record, becoming the first out non-binary person elected to a state legislature anywhere in the US, winning their race to the Oklahoma state House.

In winning their race, Mx Turner also became the first Muslim to serve in Oklahoma’s state legislature.

LGBT Victory Fund, an organisation working to recruit, train and elect LGBTQ+ public officials, claimed the election could see the number of transgender state legislators double.

“Tonight we elected our first trans state senator, our first non-binary state legislator, and we are still on track to double the number of trans state legislators nationwide,” the organisation said on Twitter.

“We also have elected state legislative candidates of colour to states and chambers where we never have before.”

With a record number of postal ballots filed, it is expected that conclusive election results will be delayed by a number of days.

Additional reporting by PA Media.

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