Washington, DC – Today, Equality PAC released the following statement celebrating the start of Pride Month – and the organization’s 10th anniversary this month – by unveiling Equality PAC’s new official logo.
“Every June – in communities across our country and in every congressional district – we celebrate Pride Month,” said Equality PAC Co-Chairs Mark Takano and Ritchie Torres.
“Every Pride Month is important, but as we begin a spirited campaign to build a new Pro-Equality House Majority this November – with a record number of LGBTQ Members of Congress elected – we must continue to show up and be outspoken about the challenges we face as a community. Extremists at all levels of government are taking steps to target members of our community – introducing legislation that takes away our rights, harms our families and security, and demonizesLGBTQ Americans as a group that should be feared. Most often, these attacks are directed at the most vulnerable, particularly trans and trans youth.
To counter these attacks, it is critical that we continue to express our love, our diversity, and our pride to the rest of the world. And we cannot back down. We’re here… we’ve always been here… and we aren’t going anywhere.
As we work to elect more LGBTQ Members of Congress – and in celebrating Equality PAC’s 10th anniversary this June – we are unveiling Equality PAC’s new official logo showing every color of our rainbow displayed as seats in the House of Representatives chamber. Our logo is a tribute to our mission and embodies our never-ending work to make sure LGBTQ Americans in every corner of this country have a seat at our nation’s most important table when it comes to issues that impact our community.
#BeProudBeRepresented.”
About Equality PAC
Equality PAC’s primary 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.
Beyond this goal, Equality PAC also supports 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. Equality PAC remains the only identity caucus PAC that supports every Frontline Democrat and every Red2Blue congressional candidate (as part of the overall effort to win a Democratic House Majority and Democratic Senate Majority.
Equality PAC takes great pride in our work and successes in electing LGBTQ persons to federal office in many of the places where you may least expect it.
Since its founding in 2014, we have made history by steadily increasing the number of LGBTQ+ persons currently serving in the House to 10 and the Senate to 3 – and we have played an outsized and unmatched role in recruiting, mentoring, and electing recent community trailblazers such as Senator Tammy Baldwin (WI); Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY); Congresswoman Sharice Davids (KS); Congressman Robert Garcia (CA); Congresswoman Angie Craig (MN); Congresswoman Becca Balint (VT); Congressman Eric Sorensen (IL); and former Congressman Mondaire Jones (NY).
In March 2024, Equality PAC was instrumental in propelling TX state Rep. Julie Johnson to an outright win in the TX-32 Democratic primary – where she handily won in a crowded 10 candidate field and avoided a costly runoff by 105 votes. Given the significant Democratic lean of this district is poised to make history as the first openly LGBTQ person ever elected to Congress from Texas and from the South. That same month, Equality led the efforts in support of CA Assemblymember Evan Low through his historic jungle primary second place finish by 5 votes in CA-16 after a lengthy recount; he will now advance to the Democrat vs Democrat general election in November.
As we look to November 2024, Equality PAC is confident that we will re-elect all 9 of our House LGBTQ incumbents – and once again reach double digits in the House – and re-elect Senator Baldwin in Wisconsin.
We have also recruited and endorsed five additional LGBTQ congressional candidates who will make history: Delaware state Senator Sarah McBride in DE-AL (will be first trans person ever elected to federal office); WA state Senator Emily Randall in WA-06 (will be first LGBTQ Latina elected to federal office); CA state Assemblymember Evan Low in CA-16 (will be first LGBTQ person elected to Congress from the Bay Area); former Congressman Mondaire Jones in NY-17 (previously was one of the first LGBTQ Black persons elected to Congress); and former federal prosecutor Will Rollins in CA-41 (will be the first LGBTQ person to represent the Palm Springs area / Coachella Valley in Congress).
We are extraordinarily grateful to have deeply committed and generous supporters in all 50 states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico – and throughout the grassroots, labor, and business communities.
