Increasing Our Representation
This Thursday, I’m heading to D.C. for a Human Rights Campaign board meeting. We’re kicking off with a push to elect two new openly LGBTQ+ candidates to the U.S. Senate: Reps. Chris Pappas of New Hampshire and Angie Craig of Minnesota.
I ask for your support at this critical time for my community. Every direction we look, our progress toward equal rights and equal dignity is being rolled back. From the bigoted ban on transgender people serving in the military, which erased decades of honorable service, to efforts at every level of government to strip away our right to marry and even our right to exist as part of the fabric of this country, the LGBTQ+ community is under attack as never before.
We need champions from our community at the highest levels of government to lead us through these dark times. Chris Pappas and Angie Craig are two such leaders.
Angie and Chris made history as the first openly LGBTQ+ people from their states to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. If elected to the Senate, they would make history again and triple LGBTQ+ representation in that body. (No, Lindsey Graham didn’t count.)
Raised by a single mom in a mobile home park, Angie became a reporter, a business leader and a champion for Minnesota families. A local volunteer for the Human Rights Campaign, Angie has worked hard since entering Congress to lower health care costs and strengthen rural communities.
Before Congress, Chris helped run his family’s 108-year-old Manchester restaurant, which has served generations of Granite Staters. A descendant of Greek immigrants and a Harvard graduate, he entered politics to fix a system that was failing everyday people. In Congress, he has earned a reputation for bridging divides.
At a time when people are being fired just for who they are or who they love, we must seize every chance to turn the tide. Here is the larger picture: Both Minnesota and New Hampshire are must-hold states for the Dems. We need to keep each state blue, or the chances of flipping the Senate dwindle to nothing. Your donation helps keep that chance alive!
Please give any amount to one or both their campaigns using the box below, where you can choose how to split your gift. If you aren’t part of the LGBTQ+ community but choose to support greater representation, I thank you especially for putting your hard-earned money behind your principles.
Thank you for helping the LGBTQ+ community know that we have friends and allies all across the country.
Jay
Jay,
I'm a Minnesota reader, and I'm disappointed that you would promote Angie Craig. LGBTQ+ or not (and I myself am also a member of that community), she is clearly the more moderate of our two Senate candidates. I would have hoped that you would choose instead to promote Peggy Flanagan, who has a far more progressive agenda and who would still be a fantastic choice for diversity given her Indigenous heritage.
If you happen to read this and care to respond, I would really like to hear more about why you are backing Craig over Flanagan. I respect your opinions, insight, and journalism, and I want to understand.
Hi Jay,
I'm a huge fan of yours!, and wonder if
you are aware of this?:
Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan holds a highly progressive record on LGBTQ+ rights. Throughout her career, she has been a vocal supporter of gender-affirming care and transgender rights, receiving endorsements from major advocacy groups like OutFront Minnesota Action and being named the 2025 Ally of the Year by Twin Cities Pride.Key Positions and ActionsTransgender Rights & Healthcare: She is an active defender of transgender youth and adults, supporting executive orders that protect and preserve access to gender-affirming care in Minnesota.
Statewide Advocacy: As Lieutenant Governor, she has consistently used her platform to speak out against national anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, framing trans equality alongside reproductive freedom and immigrant rights.
Coalition Building: Her outspoken support for the queer and trans communities has made her a targeted advocate, even receiving death threats for her defense of transgender Minnesotans.
Senate Campaign: Running for the U.S. Senate, she earned the backing of the majority of Minnesota's queer legislators. Notably, major LGBTQ+ groups support her progressive platform on civil rights over her opponent's, despite her opponent historically being the first lesbian to represent the state in Congress.