Sharice Davids

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In addition to Senator-elect Chris Pappas, voters sent several out candidates to Washington, D.C., as well as state houses across America.

Bentley Hudgins, Chris Pappas, Malcolm Kenyatta were among the LGBTQ+ midterm winners.

It was not just a blue wave at the ballot box, but a rainbow wave that voters chose on Tuesday. Here's a look at all of the out queer winners decided in the 2026 midterm election.

Chris Pappas is the first out gay man elected to the U.S. Senate. New Hampshire voters overwhelmingly chose the Democrat congressman over Republican former Sen. John Sununu. With votes still being counted, Pappas led Sununu 60 percent to 37 percent at press time.

Delaware voters sent trailblazing transgender Congresswoman Sarah McBride back to the U.S. Congress Tuesday. The nation's first out transgender federal lawmaker handily won reelection as the lone member of Congress from the First State. During her first term, House Republicans targeted the Democrat's access to women's bathrooms in the Capitol before she could cast her first vote. McBride handily defeated Republican Joseph Arminio.

Bentley Hudgins won a seat in the Georgia Assembly as the the state's first out transgender and nonbinary state lawmaker. The longtime Democratic organizer made history in the Deep South by defeating Republican Samantha Boston in House District 90.

Rep. Sharice Davids of Kansas won reelection to Congress, preserving her historic representation of the Sunflower State. The lesbian Democrat and Ho-Chunk Nation citizen defeated Republican Eric Jenkins, securing a fifth term in Congress after a campaign that highlighted competing visions for LGBTQ+ rights. Davids is one of the first two Native American women elected to the U.S. House and was the first out LGBTQ+ person elected to Congress from Kansas.

Rep. Ritchie Torres, the first out gay Afro-Latino member of Congress, won a fourth term representing New York’s 15th Congressional District Tuesday. Voters chose to send the Bronx Democrat back to Washington instead of Republican Stylo Sapaskis and Independents Andre Easton and Jose Vega. When first elected in 2020, Torres joined Democrat Mondaire Jones as the first openly gay Black men elected to the House of Representatives.

DNC Vice Chair Malcolm Kenyatta (D-PA) at a SiriusXM Town Hall on May 08, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta won reelection to represent Pennsylvania’s 181st District in the House of Representatives, securing a fifth term.

The out gay politician made history in 2018 when he became the first out gay Black person elected to the state legislature and the second out member overall. He has been married to his husband, Matthew Jordan-Miller Kenyatta, since 2022.

Michigan voters have elected Jeremy Moss to the U.S. House of Representatives, sending the state’s first out LGBTQ+ member to Congress after a legislative career that helped secure explicit civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ Michiganders.

The Democratic state senator defeated Republican Ethan Baker in Michigan’s 11th Congressional District, according to Decision Desk HQ, which called the race at 8 p.m. Eastern time as polls closed on Tuesday night, based on projections before the vote had been tallied.

Moss will succeed Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens, who left the Oakland County seat to run unsuccessfully for her party’s U.S. Senate nomination.

Nonbinary Delaware state representative DeShanna Neal secured their seat for District 13 after running unopposed.

Neal was first elected to the Delaware Statehouse in 2022, making them the state’s first-ever nonbinary elected official, and won reelection in 2024. Decision Desk HQ called their 2026 midterm win at 8 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday. They ran on a progressive platform focused on accessibility, housing rights, education and other issues, earning endorsements from LGBTQ+ groups.

Rep. Mark Pocan, one of the longest-serving out LGBTQ+ members of the U.S. House of Representatives, will extend his service.

The Democratic U.S. Representative for Wisconsin’s 2nd congressional district had run unopposed for an eighth term. He won reelection on Tuesday, according to Decision Desk HQ, which was able to call the race early in the night due to his lack of an opponent. In the 2022 and 2024 elections, Pocan had defeated Republican challenger Erik Olsen by over 40 percentage points.

Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr, the transgender Democrat who became a national figure after Republican lawmakers barred her from the House floor in 2023, has secured another term representing the Missoula area.

Zephyr ran unopposed in Montana’s 95th House District, according to Decision Desk HQ, which called her reelection at 10 p.m. Eastern time.

The result extends the political career of Montana’s first out trans state legislator, who has emerged as one of the country’s most recognizable advocates for transgender rights.

In December 2024, Zephyr wed out trans journalist Erin Reed. The couple met protesting Texas investigations into the parents of transgender youth.

Democratic congressional candidate JoAnna Mendoza, an openly LGBTQ+ Marine veteran who served during the military’s discriminatory "don’t ask, don’t tell” era, has defeated Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani in Arizona’s 6th Congressional District, flipping a closely watched House seat.

Decision Desk HQ confirmed Mendoza’s victory, calling the race at 10:12 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday night.

The result delivers a significant victory for Democrats in southern Arizona and sends a former Marine Corps drill instructor to Congress after a campaign shaped by her military service, working-class background, and commitment to LGBTQ+ equality.

Massachusetts lesbian Gov. Maura Healey signs abortion and gender-affirming care shield law

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey defeated Republican Mike Minogue to win a second term, extending the tenure of one of the nation’s first out lesbian governors.

Decision Desk HQ called the election at 10:13 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday night. With 24 percent of the vote counted, Healey had 63 percent compared with Minogue’s 33 percent. Independent candidate Andrea James had received under four percent of the vote.

Healey, a Democrat, became the first out LGBTQ+ person elected to statewide office in Massachusetts in 2014, when she won the attorney general race. During her eight-year tenure, she advocated for gun control, sought to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for their role in the opioid epidemic, and challenged President Donald Trump’s 2017 travel restrictions targeting several Muslim-majority countries, widely known as the “Muslim ban.”

Rep. Eric Sorensen, a former TV meteorologist and the first out LGBTQ+ person elected to Congress from Illinois, has won a third term representing the state’s 17th Congressional District.

In Tuesday’s election, he faced GOP small business owner Dillan Vancil. Decision Desk HQ called the race for Sorensen with 59 percent to 40 percent. The Democratic congressman won at 9:46 p.m. Eastern Tuesday, with 24 percent of votes counted.

Sorensen was first elected in the 2022 midterm cycle after former Rep. Cheri Bustos retired from the seat she had held since 2013, narrowly defeating Republican opponent Esther Joy King 52 percent to 48 percent. In 2024, he fended off a challenge from Republican Joseph McGraw with a slightly larger margin to secure a second term.

Delaware state Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall has won a second term representing the coastal communities around Rehoboth Beach, returning an out lesbian and longtime democracy advocate to a legislature grappling with questions about civil rights, affordability, and the reach of the Trump administration.

The Democrat defeated Republican Mike Simpler in a rematch of their 2024 contest. Decision Desk HQ called the race at 9:25 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday night.

Snyder-Hall’s victory was another win for LGBTQ+ representation in Delawa