Washington, DC – Today, Equality PAC Co-Chairs Ranking Member Mark Takano (D-CA) and Congressman Ritchie Torres (D-NY) released the following statement celebrating Congresswoman-Elect Julie Johnson’s win in Texas’ 32nd Congressional District election. Johnson will succeed Democratic Congressman Colin Allred, who stepped down to run for the United States Senate. With Johnson’s victory tonight, she will become the first openly LGBTQ person to serve in Congress from the South and represent Texas at the federal level.
“As a Texas educated attorney, Julie Johnson defends those who need it most, especially the LGBTQ community in Texas,” said Equality PAC Co-Chairs Ranking Member Mark Takano (D-CA) and Congressman Ritchie Torres (D-NY). “Now as a history-making Member of Congress, Julie will continue to fight for the LGBTQ community at the national level. Texas has a battleground in the fight to protect our community. And we are proud to play an important role in ensuring this region has an LGBTQ representative at the national level. Equality PAC came in early to support Julie in a crowded primary field. We invested over $610,000 to not only make sure Julie won her primary, but avoid a costly runoff election. Julie avoided this runoff by just a few hundred votes meaning that every dollar we spent made a difference in her victory. We are proud of the work that she has done to win this campaign and we look forward to working with Congresswoman-Elect Johnson to advance equality and help us pass the Equality Act.”
Equality PAC’s mission is simple: to elect more LGBTQ+ persons to Congress — individuals who will have a seat at the table, impact the debate, and humanize the LGBTQ community’s concerns. All the funds we raise are used to elect and re-elect LGBTQ persons to Congress and secondarily support strong LGBTQ community allies who will proudly and unapologetically stand with us in the fight to pass the Equality Act and equal protection under our nation’s laws.
In the short time that Equality PAC has existed, Equality PAC has played an unmatched role in making history for the LGBTQ community, electing LGBTQ leaders at the federal level such as current House Members Sharice Davis (Kansas); Ritchie Torres (New York); Becca Balint (Vermont); Robert Garcia (California); Eric Sorensen (Illinois); Angie Craig (Minnesota); and Chris Pappas (New Hampshire), as well as former House Member Mondaire Jones (New York).
Equality PAC has been instrumental in winning key races that have determined control of Congress because we know that without Pro-Equality Majorities, the progress our community has made and the civil rights and equal protections we have fought so hard for, and are still fighting for every day, remain in jeopardy.
