Washington, DC – Today, Equality PAC Co-Chairs Chairman Mark Takano (D-CA) and Congressman David Cicilline (D-RI) announced the endorsement of Buncombe County Commissioner Jasmine Beach-Ferrara for North Carolina’s 11thCongressional District.
Beach-Ferrara is running to unseat incumbent Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn. Beach-Ferrara also serves as an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and the founding Executive Director of the Campaign for Southern Equality.
“Jasmine is an incredible advocate for our LGBTQ community, taking on and winning some of the toughest fights for equality across the deep south, including helping to win marriage equality in Mississippi and North Carolina,” said Equality PAC Co-Chair Chairman Mark Takano. “Most recently, Jasmine helped pass a non-discrimination ordinance for Buncombe County that prohibits discrimination, including on the basis of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religious belief, veteran status, age or disability. Jasmine will be the first openly LGBTQ person to represent North Carolina in the U.S. Congress and the first woman representative from
NC-11. We are thrilled to be a part of her historic campaign.”
“One of the reasons we are so excited to back Jasmine’s campaign is because she knows that winning tough races means showing up and meeting people where they are,” said Equality PAC Co-Chair Congressman David Cicilline. “She is a grassroots organizer at her core, and she is going to run a campaign that shows up across her district, with the kinds of face-to-face conversations that help make inroads and create change. Jasmine has been an outstanding advocate for our LGBTQ community because she understands how important it is to stand up for people who are too often overlooked. She will be a much-needed, fresh voice for her district in Washington, D.C. and we look forward to helping her win.”
Jasmine Beach-Ferrara is a two-term Buncombe County Commissioner, who won her most recent election by double digits against a popular, well-known Republican. On the commission, Jasmine helped to expand access to early childhood education, delivered solutions to families struggling with the opioid crisis and worked to bring good, family-supporting jobs to Western North Carolina. As the executive director of the Campaign for Southern Equality, she helped win marriage equality in Mississippi and North Carolina by showing up in small towns and telling the stories of LGBTQ families. An ordained minister, service and faith are the driving forces in her work.
Jasmine grew up in North Carolina and received her undergraduate degree from Brown University. She holds a Master of Fine Arts and completed her Master of Divinity School at Harvard Divinity School. She served on the Biden Foundation’s Advisory Council for Advancing LGBTQ Equality. Jasmine and her wife Meghann live in Asheville, North Carolina with their three children.
Equality PAC is the political arm of the Congressional LGBTQ Equality Caucus and is dedicated to the full legal and societal equality for LGBTQ Americans. All funds raised into Equality PAC are spent supporting and electing openly LGBTQ individuals and strong LGBTQ allies to the United States Congress who are committed to passing the Equality ACT and to ensuring full civil rights and protections for all LGBTQ Americans.
In total, Equality PAC raised over $6.3m for Equality PAC during the previous two-year cycle — with generous supporters in all 50 states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico and throughout the business community. In addition to this, Equality PAC raised over $2.7m directly for our endorsed LGBTQ congressional candidates and funded crucial independent expenditures.
To learn more about Beach-Ferrara and her campaign, please visit jasmineforcongress.com.
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