Sarah McBride's Running For A Delaware Senate Seat!

I first met Sarah McBride back during the 2012 NBJC Out on the Hill event when she was a White House intern and I was visiting the Obama White House for an all day policy briefing.

After being pleasantly surprised pleased to see a girl like us Obama White House intern,  I made a mental note to keep up with her because I felt at the time she was destined to do some great things for our community and our country.

My intuition about her turned out to be right on target.  Sarah went on after completing that White House internship to do some amazing things.

She was hired by HRC to become its national press secretary.   In 2013 she helped pass her home state of Delaware's statewide trans non discrimination law, and received the Delaware Order of the First State for her efforts to do so from former Gov. Jack Markell. 

She became the first out trans person to make a political convention stage speech when she did so during the 2016 DNC convention in Philadelphia.



And now Sarah McBride is attempting to become a Delaware state senator in 2020.

She recently announced her candidacy for a recently vacated state senate seat, and if she's successful, she will become the first out trans person to ever be elected as a state senator. 

But her run will focus on the issues facing her potential constituents, not her trans identity.

"At the end of the day, I'm not running to be a transgender state senator, I'm running to be a senator who serves her community, I'm running to be a senator who fights for affordable health care, I'm running to be a senator who works to expand access to paid leave and reform our broken criminal justice system," McBride told local radio station WDEL. "Those will be my priorities." 

She's running for the Delaware 1st District seat formerly held by Harris McDowell (D-Wilmington North) He was Delaware's longest serving state senator, having been first elected to the chamber in 1976. 

McDowell announced his retirement on June 30, the last day of the 2019 legislative session, and capping a 44 year career.





I'm already enthusiastically giving her a 2020 TransGriot endorsement for this position. I'm also  hoping this happens for her, her potential constituents and our community. 

And yeah, it goes without saying that it would be nice for y'all to drop some cash toward her election campaign.    
 
Good luck Sarah, and hope you make more history in that 2020 election cycle.

GENDA FINALLY Passes the New York Senate!

I have been chronicling on the blog the tortured history of New York state's proposed Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) law that would give trans New Yorkers statewide rights protection and add them to the state's hate crimes law. 

Since 2008 it has overwhelmingly passed in the Democratically controlled New York General Assembly only to die in the Republican controlled NY State Senate without a committee hearing or even a floor vote..

In November, the Blue tsunami flipped eight senate seats and gave Democrats control of the NY State Senate with a solid 39-24 majority.

Now that the NY senate is firmly in Democratic hands, the GENDA bill finally began to move in that chamber instead of hitting the usual Republican legislative roadblock aided and abetted by DINO Democrats   

GENDA not only got its first committee hearing in the NY Senate, it passed out of committee and to the NY senate floor yesterday on a unanimous vote.

Today GENDA passed in the New York state senate on a 42-19 vote to send the bill to Governor Andrew Cuomo's desk for his signature to make it law.

Congrats to all my trans family in New York.  This is a day you have been waiting for since you were callously stripped out of the SONDA bill in 1993. 

And how apropos that GENDA passed on Dr King's birthday!

And today, Sylvia Rivera is smiling as the day she fought for on her deathbed has finally come to pass for trans New Yorkers.

Dayna Smith Running For South Carolina Senate Seat

There's a special election happening in South Carolina today that will also get my undivided attention when the polls close this evening.

Dayna Smith is running for the SC State Senate District 20 seat that covers Lexington and Richland counties and the cities of Columbia, Irmo, Lake Murray, Seven Oaks and St. Andrews.

She's also the first out trans person to run for office in South Carolina

The special election is happening because longtime state Senator John Courson (R) resigned and vacated the seat after pleading guilty to official misconduct in June.    The seat has been held by the GOP since 1984, and South Carolina has a 28-18 GOP state Senate majority that the SC Democrats would love to begin the process of flipping by flipping this senate seat..

Smith is one of three Democrats competing for the seat, and faces off against Dick Harpootlian, the former chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party and Kyle Lacio for the Democratic nomination. 
Four Republicans are running in their primary. 

If no one gets over 50% in their primary, there will be a runoff election scheduled for August 28.    The primary winners will face off in the November 6 general election for the District 20 seat .

Good luck to Dayna and hope she makes some South Carolina political history later tonight.

Fran Watson Runoff Election TX State Senate Bid Falls Short

One of the bummer results from last night's Texas party primary runoff election races is that Fran Watson's historic bid to become only the third African American woman to be elected a Texas state senator ended last night.

Had Watson won, she would have not only stayed on course to become the third African American woman state senator, she would have possibly become the first ever openly LGBT one in Texas history.

Texas State Senate District 17 is split across three counties, Harris, Fort Bend and Brazoria.   Despite Watson taking an early lead by winning the Brazoria County portion of the district, the same didn't happen in Harris and Fort Bend counties. 

Rita Lucido will get the Democratic nomination for Senate District 17 and will get a rematch with the incumbent senator Joan Huffman (R).  Best of luck to her this fall.

But I do wish to take a moment to congratulate Fran Watson for a job well done in her first campaign for public office.  She forced a runoff with the favored Lucido.  7,659 Texans voted for you across three counties in this runoff election  and 12,621 did so on March 6. 

Countless other #TeamFran people supported you in your historic bid to become a Texas senator along with several organizations .

Fran. you didn't lose.   We Texans lost by not having a quality person like you repping Senate District 17 when the next Texas legislative session starts in January   We need more progressive leaning people and politicians who will put the people first.  We need your thoughtful, eloquent voice resonating in Texas senate hearings and the Texas senate chamber during floor debates.

I have no doubts that it will happen for you.   Unfortunately it wasn't last night.

Fran, just a note from our history for you and everyone else to peruse.  Barbara Jordan (who you were frequently compared to) lost her first two bids for the Texas House in 1962 and 1964.   She eventually won that historic 1966 state Senate race and every campaign after that until she retired from Congress in 1978. 

Something great is in store for you.   It's going to be interesting to see exactly what that is.

Andrea Marra and Melissa Sklarz Running For Office In New York State!

The list of trans people,running for office in 2018 to #TransformPolitics continues to grow.

Have two more names to add to that list and both are longtime advocates and friends of mine in New York state running for legislative office there.

Andrea Marra is running for a New York State senate seat in Senate District 13 against the incumbent DINO senator Jose Peralta.   Peralta is colluding with the NY Senate Republicans so they can keep control of the Senate and block progressive legislation coming out of the Democratically controlled state Assembly. 

Senate District 13 covers the neighborhoods of Queens, Jackson Heights and  Astoria in New York City.

One of the bills that is caught up in that legislative drama is GENDA.   That transgender rights bill has passed multiple times by large margins out of the Assembly, but has yet to get a hearing, much less a vote in the Republican controlled Senate in large part because of the sellout group of Democrats who caucus with the Republicans.

Should Andrea's run for the SD 13 seat be successful, it would not only put a Democrat back in the Senate 13 seat, it would also put the party one step closer to finally getting control of the NY Senate in a predominately Democratic state and breaking the GOP senate logjam preventing progressive legislation from getting passed and signed into law by Gov.Andrew Cuomo (D).

Andrea said this about her race on her Facebook page.

It’s time to dish on what I’ve been working on for months. With already 210 contributions raising nearly $50,000 in just 30 days, I’m running for state senate to tackle the affordability crisis affecting New Yorkers from all walks of life. An affordable New York enabled my parents to succeed and I am running to ensure that other working and middle class people are offered that same kind of opportunity.

I’m running against the incumbent Jose Peralta who walked away from the Democratic conference and now shares power with the Republicans. Enabling the party of Trump is clearly not the answer, yet Peralta is proud of his new affiliation. He even accepted $20,000 from Richard LeFrak, a close friend and major donor to Trump. Now more than ever, we need a strong and progressive state government to safeguard all New Yorkers from the real harm coming out of the White House. And I am excited to work hard and earn the privilege of serving my local community.

In the coming weeks and months, I look forward to meeting more of my neighbors and listen to their concerns where 167 languages are spoken and difference of all kinds is valued. Let’s transform New York, together.#Marra2018 #SD13 #QNS #WatchMeWork

Marra would also be making history if she's successful.   If she wins she'd be the first out Asian American elected to the NY Senate and the second Asian descended trans person elected to public office anywhere in the United States. 

Kim Coco Iwamoto, who was elected to the Hawaii State Board of Education in 2006 and is currently running in the Democratic primary to become Hawaii's lieutenant governor, was the first Asian trans person to make that electoral history. 

Marra would also be the first out trans person of any ethnic background elected to the New York state legislature.

The other person attempting to make electoral history is another longtime New York based trans advocate in Melissa Sklarz.

Melissa is no stranger to making history.  In 2016 she became one of the first trans person in New York state who was named and cast a vote as an Electoral College presidential elector 

Sklarz is running for the 30th State Assembly district seat that is also in Queens.   The 30th Assembly District covers Woodside, Maspeth, and parts of Middle Village, Astoria, Sunnyside and Long Island City.

She's also challenging an incumbent in Assemblyman Brian Barnwell who defeated a 9 time incumbent in the Democratic primary in 2016.

So needless to say Melissa is going to have a tough race and this is what she had to say about it from her Facebook page.  .

"My dream is finally coming true. I am excited to announce my run for the New York State Assembly’s 30th Assembly District in Queens (Woodside, Maspeth, and parts of Middle Village, Astoria, and Sunnyside). This is the first of many announcements to come about this campaign. This race will not be easy, and I will need your help."

After the 2016 election, I realized that now, more than ever, my years of experience in Albany and NYC advocating for equality will be put to good use representing the voters in my district. With our transportation network in crisis, the Trump budget assault on New Yorkers, and women still lacking proper representation in all sectors, I will make sure all voices are heard in Albany. 

Please donate whatever you can and share with your networks. I look forward to working with you and for you! #Melissa2018https://secure.actblue.com/donate/melissa-2018-1

Should Sklarz win this race, she would be making trans history again by becoming the first out trans person elected to the New York General Assembly.

Run Andrea and Melissa Run!   Good luck to both of you in this 2018 election year that is becoming more interesting by the day. 

Hope those of you living in New York will help them both out and help them with their campaigns either with your cash, your volunteer time and more importantly, your votes.   

This is your chance trans New Yorkers, to elect someone to the legislature to represent you, and hope you take advantage of it.

Fran Watson Endorsed By Victory Fund

This blog has been tracking the trailblazing awesomeness of Fran Watson for a few years.  The first Black female president of the Houston GLBT Caucus.  The second Black woman elected as a Houston Pride Grand Marshal

Now Fran is running for the Texas Senate and making a bid to become only the third Black woman elected to the body since Eddie Bernice Johnson was serving in the senate from the Dallas area District 23 from 1987-93.

It's been an even longer drought for Black female representation in the Texas Senate from the Houston area.  The last Houston area Black woman to be elected to the Texas Senate was the first Black woman ever elected to that body, the legendary political trailblazer Barbara Jordan back in 1967. 

Rep. Senfronia Thompson, the dean of the Texas House who has served in that body since 1968, was the most recent Houston area woman to try and unfortunately fail to break that streak.

Thompson ran for the Texas Senate District 13 seat vacated by Rodney Ellis, who is now a Harris County commissioner after serving 26 years in the chamber, but was defeated by Borris Miles for it.. 

Fran Watson is running for the Senate District 17 seat that covers much of southwest and west Houston, Bellaire, and parts of Fort Bend and Brazoria Counties currently held by Joan Huffman (R).     

Watson's campaign is picking up momentum and this Victory Fund endorsement is only the latest evidence of it.    Will we see history made this November? 

We have a few months until we get to that point, but that endorsement is a major boost to her campaign.  .     

The Terrific Ten TX Dem Senators Oppose SB 6

For those of you who were wondering where were the Texas Senate Democrats in opposition to SB 6 and its 21-10 passage in the Texas Senate on Tuesday and Wednesday to sen it to the Texas House, they were live and in full effect in opposing this bill.  Unfortunately we hand one DINO in Sen.  Eddie Lucio, Jr who joined the Texas GOP trans oppressors

But elections matter, and the GOP has a 20-11 edge in the Texas Senate.   You don't like that, vote the GOP oppressors out starting in 2018.   That DINO Lucio needs to primary challenged.

Ten senators rose in opposition to the Texas Transgender Oppression Act that Houston GLBT Caucus president Fran Watson has dubbed 'The Terrific Ten'

Here are their words in opposition to the unjust bill.


Sen. Sylvia Garcia



Sen. Judith Zaffirini 



Sen. Jose Menendez 




Sen Chuy Hinojosa 



Sen John Whitmire 

Kim Coco Iwamoto Falls Short In Hawaii Senate Primary Election

A little electoral bad news out of Hawaii.

Our sis and Hawaii Human Rights Commissioner  Kim Coco Iwamoto was in a three way Democratic primary race for a state senate seat that came open with the retirement of longtime Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland (D).

The primary election was held on August 13, and the voters of Senate District 13 have spoken. After all the ballots in the race were cast and counted, they chose Karl Rhoads to be the Democratic Party nominee for the Senate District 13 seat.

Rhoads will take on Republican nominee Rod Tam, who was unopposed in his race and Libertarian Harry Ozols on November 8 for the Hawaii Senate District 13 seat.

Rhoads got 3,605 votes, or 41.8% of the votes cast to Iwamoto's 2,530 votes, or 29.4% of the votes cast by Senate District 13 Democratic primary voters.   Keone Nakoa polled 1,865 votes, or 21.6%.

While this is disappointing news,  hopefully this is just a temporary setback and there is a bigger, better electoral office in Kim Coco's future .