Transgender Florida House candidate Ashley Brundage is looking forward to shaking Governor Ron DeSantis’ hand.
Brundage, a Democrat, credits DeSantis, a Republican, with inspiring what could be political history: If she wins, she will become the first trans woman elected to public office in Florida. Brundage said he hopes DeSantis does Anti-LGBTQ education and health care laws the cornerstone of his second term as governor – attends his inauguration and comes face-to-face with one of the Floridians whose life has been increasingly scrutinized under his watch.
“To draft any kind of cultural bill, to literally draft bills to remove me from the community, I think is a waste of time, resources and money from the state of Florida,” Brundage said.
NBC News spoke with seven transgender candidates running for state legislature seats across the country about what they hope to accomplish if elected. They listed a variety of policy issues that motivated them to run for office, from affordable housing to climate change. Nearly all said they were inspired or compelled to run because of the wave of anti-LGBTQ bills proposed and passed by state lawmakers in the chambers they want to join.
“The transgender community has been targeted and attacked, and these are concerted attacks that go back several years. “When any community is under attack, it’s important that people from that community speak up and be in leadership positions to respond to the attacks,” said California Senate Democratic candidate Lisa Middleton.
Steady rise
At least 18 trans candidates are running for seats in state legislatures this election cycle, according to the LGBTQ Victory Fund, a super PAC focused on electing LGBTQ candidates. They are fighting against a national political background in which trans people have come to play a major role.
At the state level, 75 anti-LGBTQ bills became law last year, and 21 of them specifically targeted trans people and their ability to receive gender-affirming care or play on sports teams that match their identities.
On the national stage, former president Donald Trump spent tens of millions of dollars while trans health care and sports participation were not among the top 10 issues driving voter turnout for either party, about ads that negatively portray or exclude trans people and their allies; According to a survey released by Pew Research last month.
Gabriele Magni, an associate professor of political science at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles who focuses on LGBTQ politics, said that while trans issues rank lower in voters’ minds than immigration or the economy, they “can be a successful way to mobilize a small but potentially powerful force. is an important sector of voters”.
Last year, Trump himself said that when he brought up transgender issues at rallies, “everyone is going crazy.”
But Magni said there is also a monetary incentive to focus on such issues.
“Every time a new anti-trans bill was introduced at the state level, there would almost always be a fundraising email the next day saying it was done to protect boys and girls in school,” she said.
The presence of trans candidates on the ballot has only continued to increase since 2017, when Danica Roem of Virginia. the first trans person elected to the state legislature. Roem, now a state senator, is at least one of them eight transgender legislators in state legislatures, according to a study by the LGBTQ Victory Institute.
“I have not spoken to a single trans person running for state legislature [Roem] It inspired them to step forward to fight for their communities. Now Sarah McBride is putting it together,” said Sean Meloy, vice president of political programs at the Victory Fund. McBride is expected to make history First trans member of Congress After serving two terms in the Delaware Senate.
“Bread and Butter Problems”
For Roem, a former journalist, local congestion was a central campaign issue national focus on her gender identity. The story is similar for many of this year’s candidates, who disagree with bills targeting LGBTQ people but also care about a range of other issues.
Most of the candidates had engaged in some degree of civic activism or local politics before running for office, giving them portfolios on other issues to bolster their political futures. Nathan Bruemmer, a Democrat who would become the first trans man in the Florida Legislature if elected, was previously appointed LGBTQ consumer advocate for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Middleton has worked in local government his entire adult life, most recently as mayor and City Council member in Palm Springs.
“That trust I’ve built on any major bread-and-butter issue of local government has served me well when it came time to talk about issues specific to the LGBT and transgender community,” Middleton said. whose campaign website Abortion care, rebuilding public infrastructure, and increasing funding for local police and firefighters are listed as top issues.
Brundage is clear that her campaign is “not about LGBTQ rights at all.”
“Being trans has almost nothing to do with my candidacy for political office. If anything, it’s just a part of who I am,” he said. “My campaign is to address the property insurance crisis that’s only gotten worse because of the storms we’re experiencing in the Tampa Bay area.”
In Hawaii, Kim Coco Iwamoto, who is Given that she is unopposed, the already-elected representative is particularly concerned about homelessness rates in her state.
Indiana Senate candidate Veronica Pejril lists “health liberties” as a top priority. his campaign site. Pejril made history in 2019 First openly trans elected official in Indiana After winning a seat on the Greencastle City Council.
Wick Thomas, a librarian and Missouri House candidate, is particularly concerned about right-wing efforts to censor or ban books from school libraries, particularly those with material related to LGBTQ people.
“Anti-trans laws and anti-library laws go hand in hand. “If you’re trying to push a single narrative, then it’s dangerous for the library to have multiple points of view,” Thomas said.
Transphobia on the campaign trail
Iwamoto, who has run for local office several times over the past two decades, said on the campaign trail that she has experienced almost no hostility in her liberal state for being a trans woman of color. However, she recalled an incident when someone left her a transphobic voicemail at the height of the pandemic. He said he called back, pretending he hadn’t heard, to check if the caller needed support.
“We ended up talking, and then he said, ‘You know, I’m glad you didn’t hear the voicemail because it was so hostile, but I would really vote for you right now,'” Iwamoto recalled the man saying.
None of the candidates who spoke to NBC News said such confrontations have dampened their political ambitions.
Thomas, who uses gender neutral pronouns, added that most of the vitriol they’ve received has come online from people they don’t believe live in the state. Thomas said they don’t tend to “lead” with their gender identity, but they have seen an increase in the number of hateful comments on their social media accounts. Recognized by Gun SenseThe Everytown for Gun Safety affiliate singles out candidates who have pledged to govern in favor of stronger gun regulations.
Pejril said that he was personally subjected to verbal attacks. He said he knocks on the doors of people in his state saying things like, “I know who you are. I know what you are.’
“The thing is, I have to exist. It won’t stop me from being who I am and living my most authentic self,” Pejril said of such interactions. “I keep coming back to it, but our pledge of allegiance says ‘liberty and justice for all.’ And this, to be honest, is an unfulfilled promise for many.”