Washington, DC – Today, Equality PAC Co-Chairs Ranking Member Mark Takano (D-CA) and Congressman Ritchie Torres (D-NY) released the following statement on each of the victories secured by our LGBTQ Frontliners in the 2024 House elections. Equality PAC supported all four LGBTQ Frontline candidates: Congresswoman Angie Craig in Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District, Congressman Chris Pappas in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, Congresswoman Sharice Davids in Kansas’ 3rd Congressional District, and Congressman Eric Sorensen in Illinois’ 17th Congressional District. All four LGBTQ Frontline candidates decisively won their respective re-elections to the House.
“Our LGBTQ Frontliners are our majority-makers, and without them winning their tough races, the goal of making sure we increase the number of LGBTQ Members of Congress would be out of reach,” said Equality PAC Co-Chairs Ranking Member Mark Takano (D-CA) and Congressman Ritchie Torres (D-NY). “Each of these candidates faced difficult elections with outside money and negative attack ads pouring in from every which way. Equality PAC has always stood by our four LGBTQ Frontliners, spending more than a half a million dollars making sure they had the resources to win. And when we invest in winning these races, we ensure that LGBTQ communities, in places where their voices are usually silenced, have an opportunity to be heard. Congratulations to Angie, Chris, Sharice, and Eric on their victories last night. We look forward to uplifting their unique voices as a vibrant part of our Equality Caucus in the House.”
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.
