LGBT Candidates for State Legislative Seats: Winners & losers

• In Event: Culture War Politics in the US States

Abstract

LGBT Candidates for State Legislative Seats: Winners & losers in the 2018 general election

LGBT state legislative candidates had unprecedented success at the polls in 2018, increasing their overall numbers by a little more than 15%. (Gossett & Reynolds, 2018; Magni & Reynolds, 2018) A unique data set was created that included LGBT candidates for seats in the upper and lower legislative chambers in the 46 states and 5 territories holding elections in 2018. A previous study had identified LGBT legislators who had been elected; this is the first study to include candidates, as well.

Because there is no central location where data on the sexual orientation or gender identity of state legislative candidates is kept, the author, along with colleagues, regularly monitored news articles, LGBT political action committees, and checked in with colleagues to identify individuals who met the requirements of being an "out" member of LGBT community.

At this stage, the study is focused on descriptive data that is focused on sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, political party, state, and incumbency. The data collected so far allows for comparisons about success of different groups in both primary elections and the general election.

This project is seen as part of the broader research field of political representation. One can't begin to understand the impact of a legislator's sexual orientation without an understanding of how many such legislators there are and whether or not the experience of such legislators is affected by intersectionality, particularly with race and gender. Repetition of studies done on state legislators with respect to race, gender, ethnicity, and political party is a longer term goal of this project. Introducing potentially interested researchers to the existence of the database is a more immediate goal.

References
Gossett, C.W. and A. Reynolds. (2018). "Will there be a ‘rainbow wave’? 4 things to know about LGBTQ candidates running for office this year" Washington Post (Monkey Cage), October 22, 2018. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/10/22/will-there-be-a-rainbow-wave-4-things-to-know-about-lgbtq-candidates-running-for-office-this-year/?utm_term=.027da5c1d58a

Magni, G. and A. Reynolds. (2018). "The 2018 blue wave included quite a few LGBT wins — even though voters are still wary of gay and trans candidates." Washington Post (Monkey Cage), November 25, 2018. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/11/25/the-2018-blue-wave-included-quite-a-few-lgbt-wins-even-though-voters-are-still-wary-of-gay-and-trans-candidates/?utm_term=.1906fac3752a

Author

• Charles W. Gossett, California State University, Sacramento