Darrell Issa

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Republicans flooded Texas with anti-trans ads and lost the governor’s mansion and a Senate seat. Across the country, LGBTQ+ candidates flipped seats and broke barriers.

Supporters of Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico react to early election results at a midterm election night watch party at the Long Center for the Performing Arts in Austin, Texas, on November 3, 2026.

Christopher Wiggins is the politics and news editor at equalpride, where he leads and shapes coverage across The Advocate, Out, and Them. Based in Washington, D.C., he oversees national reporting on the White House, Congress, the Supreme Court, federal agencies, state governments, and the political forces shaping LGBTQ+ life in the United States.

A GLAAD Media Award-winning journalist, Wiggins has reported extensively on federal policy, civil rights, elections, the courts, and the consequences of government action for LGBTQ+ people, with a particular focus on transgender communities. His work includes cover profiles for The Advocate’s print magazine featuring U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride of Delaware, CNN anchor-turned-independent journalist Don Lemon, former senior Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official Dr. Demetri Daskalakis, and former Vice President Kamala Harris.

In addition to directing editorial strategy, Wiggins continues to report from Washington on the institutions, officials, and movements defining the national political landscape, including the second Trump administration.

He can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Instagram and Bluesky. Whistleblowers and confidential sources may contact him securely on Signal at cwdc.98.

It’s a blue wave in America, and there’s a rainbow too.

Democrats surged into Republican territory Tuesday night, with LGBTQ+ candidates helping flip congressional seats, breaking barriers in Texas and securing another term for the nation’s first transgender member of Congress.

Texas delivered one of the night’s sharpest rebukes to Republicans’ anti-trans campaign strategy. After the GOP poured tens of millions into anti-trans television advertising in the state, Democrats flipped both the governorship and a U.S. Senate seat. Gina Hinojosa defeated Gov. Greg Abbott, becoming Texas’ first Latina governor, while James Talarico beat Attorney General Ken Paxton. The barrage kept neither office in Republican hands, breaking decades of Democratic losses in statewide elections.

Democrats also captured Republican Senate seats in South Carolina, Ohio, Iowa and North Carolina. Democrats are projected to control the House and the U.S. Senate, setting up a confrontation with President Donald Trump over legislation, judicial confirmations, and congressional investigations.

Rep. Robert Garcia, the out gay California Democrat positioned to chair the House Oversight Committee, offered a preview.

Related: Rainbow Wave 2026: See all the LGBTQ+ midterm election winners

Garcia defeated Republican Brian Burley, securing a third term and putting him on course to lead one of Congress’ most consequential investigative committees.

LGBTQ+ candidates helped build that majority.

In Indiana, Democratic state Sen. JD Ford defeated Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz, becoming the first out gay person elected to Congress from the state. In Arizona, queer Marine veteran JoAnna Mendoza unseated Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani. And in California, bisexual San Diego City Council member Marni von Wilpert defeated Republican Jim Desmond for the seat being vacated by Rep. Darrell Issa.

New Hampshire delivered another breakthrough as Rep. Chris Pappas defeated Republican former Sen. John E. Sununu to become the first out gay man elected to the U.S. Senate. He will succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.

In Delaware, Rep. Sarah McBride won a second term, returning Congress’ first out transgender member to a chamber where Republican leaders targeted her bathroom access before she cast her first vote. Kansas voters also reelected Rep. Sharice Davids, a lesbian and Ho-Chunk Nation citizen.

The gains extended into state government. Bentley Hudgins defeated Republican Samantha Boston to become Georgia’s first out transgender and nonbinary state lawmaker. Their campaign emphasized housing, wages, transit, and neglected neighborhoods.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey and Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, the first out lesbians elected governor, both secured second terms.

Virginia voters also approved a constitutional amendment protecting marriage equality, replacing the unenforceable same-sex marriage ban adopted 20 years earlier.

As counting continued, the night’s significance was already clear. LGBTQ+ Americans had helped Democrats win power and would be among those entrusted to use it.

In 2020, Benham became the first out LGBTQ+ woman and first autistic person elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly.

The measure will prohibit trans students from playing on K-12 sports teams that correspond with their gender identity.

Trans sports restrictions already exist in Nebraska; this initiative effectively adds them to the state constitution.

Minnesota’s first out transgender legislator defeated Republican Mark Born, securing a third term after championing the state’s trans refuge law.

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Voters line up to vote at the Mid-County Branch public library polling place in Clayton.

Rep. Balint, who has co-chaired the Congressional Equality Caucus since 2023, will now serve a third term in Congress.

Ann Johnson has served three terms in a district that includes Houston’s historically LGBTQ+ Montrose neighborhood.

Proposition 142 put DEI on the ballot in Arizona.

The MAGA movement met its midterm comeuppance.

He repeatedly defended individual rights and liberties in a combative conversation.

The Democrat handily won reelection as the lone member of Congress from Delaware.

“I love you too, sir. In a totally platonic way, to be clear. I’m the vice president, not James Talarico.”

The former Marine Corps drill instructor won Arizona’s competitive 6th Congressional District after a campaign focused on affordability, health care, and restoring accountability in Washington.

The popular fitness influencer created adult content on OnlyFans for roughly three to four years.

Represented by a former attorney for Ken Paxton, a Wyoming-based group is fighting to keep its role in the pre-Election Day mailer campaign from further scrutiny.