Are LGBTQ+ Lawmakers Effective?

• In Event: Legislative Effectiveness

Abstract

Are LGBTQ+ state legislators effective lawmakers? Scholars have recently begun to take seriously the role of legislators’ sexuality as a descriptive identity that may shape their legislative behavior (Haider-Markel 2010; Haider-Markel et al. 2019; Everitt et al. 2019; Haider-Markel et al. 2020; Brant et al. 2022). In line with this research, we argue that LGBTQ+ are likely more effective lawmakers than their non-LGBTQ+ colleagues. LGBTQ+ candidates face electoral selection effects—primarily discrimination from voters and political elites—that increase the difficulty of winning elected office (Haider-Markel et al. 2017; Magni 2019). As a result, the LGBTQ+ candidates who win elected office and gain representation in legislatures should be more effective than non-LGBTQ+ legislators who do not face similar electoral selection effects. To test this expectation, we create a novel data set pairing the sexual identity of state legislators and their state legislative effectiveness scores (SLES) from 1990-2018 (Bucchianeri, Volden, & Wiseman 2020). Initial findings suggest that LGBTQ+ state legislators are approximately 10% more effective than non-LGBTQ+ state legislators. To test whether LGBTQ+ lawmakers are more effective because of sexuality-based discrimination during elections, we use survey responses to create a measure of LGBTQ+ discrimination for every state legislative district. We then examine whether LGBTQ+ lawmakers from more discriminatory districts are more effective than LGBTQ+ from less discriminatory districts. If discrimination is the mechanism explaining why LGBTQ+ lawmakers are more effective than non-LGBTQ+ lawmakers, LGBTQ+ lawmakers from more discriminatory districts should be more effective than LGBTQ+ lawmakers from less discriminatory districts. The findings contribute to the literature on legislative effectiveness, representation, and LGBTQ+ politics.

Authors

• Mackenzie Ridge Dobson, University of Virginia

• Jacob Michael Lollis, University of Virginia