Six States Elect First Transgender Public Officials in US History

Six U.S. states elected their first transgender public officials in the recent midterm elections. Projections from NBC, CNN, and CBS confirmed wins in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Michigan, Washington, and Wisconsin. These results stand out because three of the victories occurred in the Deep South, a region historically conservative.

In Georgia, Bentley Hudgins won the District 90 state House seat. The nonbinary Democrat defeated Republican Samantha Boston with 92.5% of the vote. Hudgins is also the first person of Japanese descent to serve in the Georgia Legislature. Hudgins plans to prioritize stopping attacks on residents by President Donald Trump and the Republican Party.

Allison Montgomery took the District 25 seat in Alabama, flipping the district to blue. This was one of three Democratic flips in the state's northern region. Montgomery faced criticism during the campaign from Scott Stadthagen, the chair of the Alabama Republican Party. Stadthagen referred to Montgomery and another transgender Democrat as men with mental disorders.

Quinnie Pérez became Florida's first elected transgender official. Pérez won the seat on the Orange County Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervision for District 1. The candidate of Mexican descent focused their campaign on supporting farmworkers and protecting local biodiversity.

Michigan, Washington, and Wisconsin each elected their first transgender members to their state legislatures. Joanna Whaley, a hospital chaplain, won the Michigan seat. Whaley previously described herself as a survivor of years of conversion therapy. Jaelynn Scott won in Washington, becoming the first Black transgender state legislator in the United States. Dina Nina Martínez-Rutherford secured the victory in Wisconsin.