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Trend watch: gay Republicans for Congress
Innis seeks N.H. House seat in ‘historic’ year for GOP
Dan Innis is running for Congress in New Hampshire (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key).
The New Hampshire Republican is one of three openly gay Republicans running in the congressional mid-terms along with Richard Tisei in Massachusetts and Carl DeMaio in San Diego.
The significance of the triumvirate of gay GOPers running for Congress at the same time isn’t lost on Innis, who spoke with the Washington Blade during a trip to D.C. last week between meetings on K Street.
“I think it’s an indicator of how far we have moved as a nation because 10 years ago, this wouldn’t be happening,” Innis said. “And we have really come a long way, and I think we will continue to move along this path. To me, it’s a real statement about our continued push for full equality.”
But it’s the Republican aspect of Innis’ candidacy that’s at the forefront of his mind as he seeks to oust incumbent Democrat Rep. Carol Shea-Porter from her seat representing New Hampshire’s 1st congressional district.
During his tenure since 2007 as dean of the College of Business and Economics at the University of New Hampshire, Innis said the young people with whom he works don’t see the world in the same way as he did when he was younger.
“I’ve been working with young people for 23 years in higher education,” Innis said. “I have three kids of my own, 13, 20 and 22. And the way that they see the world today is different from the way that I saw it. They don’t feel the same level of freedom, they don’t feel the same opportunities, they don’t feel that their future is as bright as I felt mine was.”
For Innis, the downward shift has its roots in Washington, and it’s time for New Hampshire to send representatives to Congress “who are not career politicians, who can help to turn things back around, and bring back that sense of optimism about the future.”
Innis earlier this month won an endorsement from the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, which has also endorsed Tisei in his bids for Congress. The Victory Fund has yet to endorse DeMaio.
“Dan Innis is a sensible and visionary leader, two qualities New Hampshire constituents deserve in a representative,” said Torey Carter, chief operating officer at the Victory Fund. “His unique combination of corporate and academic backgrounds has allowed him to address issues that affect others with careful consideration.”
Innis said he hasn’t sought an endorsement from the Human Rights Campaign. The Log Cabin Republicans are prohibited from making endorsements in the primary.
Even with the Victory Fund endorsement, the New Hampshire Republican said he doesn’t see LGBT issues as a priority for him if elected as much as the advancement of equality in general.
“I think, for me, it’s about equality for all, and those are the issues that I’ll always champion, so any issue that relates to equality — whether it’s related to gender, race, sexual orientation — those are values that I think all Americans hold, and those are things that I would always fight for,” Innis said. “It’s a broad-based equality mission for me.”
But among the pieces of legislation at the top of his list is the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, a bill that has languished in Congress for years that would prohibit bias against LGBT people in the workforce.
“It’s time that that come up for a vote, and there’s no reason it shouldn’t,” Innis said. “We’ve seen support for that on the Senate side, New Hampshire senators both supported it, Republican and Democrat, and I’m proud of that. And I believe the House will do the right thing.”
The legislation passed in the Senate late last year on a bipartisan vote of 64-32, but House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has said he opposes it and it hasn’t yet come up for a vote in the Republican-controlled chamber.
Even though his vote first in Congress would be for Republican leadership, Innis said he sees the ability for LGBT legislation to advance under a GOP-controlled House because he’d bring a different voice to the caucus.
“When they’re not there with you, you don’t see it the same way,” Innis said. “The minute I’m sitting down next to John Boehner or somebody else, I’m there, and that bill affects me, and that affects how they perceive that bill, and I think it will really change the way the Republican Party will move forward.”
Innis isn’t alone in his bid for the Republican nomination. Also running is Frank Guinta, a former member of the U.S. House who defeated Shea-Porter in 2010, but lost to her in the 2012 election. The primary is Sept. 9.
A recent WMUR Granite State Poll showed Guinta ahead of Shea-Porter, but Innis behind her. He attributed that discrepancy to name recognition, saying that would change as the campaign gets underway and Super PACs come to his aid.
Although significant gains for LGBT equality have been made under the Obama administration, Innis insisted credit for progress should be given to all who contributed.
“You know, we’ve seen previous presidents, the one before Obama, put an awful lot of money into AIDS research,” Innis said, “And I think that deserves credit. George W. Bush was phenomenal on that. He deserves credit. Any leader who’s taken a stand on these issues deserves credit regardless of party. To me, this is not a partisan issue; this is a human issue.”
Despite his support for LGBT rights, Innis stopped short of endorsing the idea of an executive order barring LGBT workplace bias against federal contractors. No Republican lawmaker or candidate has yet to endorse the order.
“I have some issues with executive orders,” Innis said. “I’m not a big fan of executive orders generally speaking, and I will say I haven’t given this one an awful lot of thought, but I think equality is always a good thing.”
Asked whether he was leaning in favor of supporting the executive order, Innis said he’d like to see an end to LGBT discrimination “done in a more open and participative way.”
Coming from a state where same-sex marriage was made legal in 2009 through the legislative process, Innis had a role in helping resist an effort from a Republican supermajority in the legislature to repeal the statute.
Innis acknowledged he didn’t have an active role in the legalization of same-sex marriage at that time because he had recently come out as gay and was still in his position at the university, but said he lent his voice as a Republican when the law was under threat.
“I guess I was on a brochure that went to all the legislators with my story,” Innis said. “I gave a couple of talks, some things in newspapers, and really I think represented equality in the state in that battle. It became very visible for me. I was featured in the Portsmith Herald on the front page the day after. It was a little more public than I wanted to be, but so be it.”
Innis said he faced criticism for his role in convincing the Republicans to drop efforts to repeal the law, but wouldn’t identify who was unhappy with him.
“I think it’s important to note that that was a Republican legislature that had a veto-proof majority in both houses. Think about that and equality was supported,” Innis said. “That’s New Hampshire. And we believe in equality and freedom for all.”
Innis said he hasn’t yet spoken to the other two gay Republican candidates running for Congress, but said he expects to talk to them soon. He’s also not a member of the joint fundraising committee formed by Tisei and DeMaio called the Equality Leadership Fund. Innis said he’s aware of the fund but remains focused on his campaign.
It should be noted all three openly gay Republicans seeking seats in the U.S. House are trying to oust incumbent Democrats.
Ray Buckley, who’s gay and chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, said Shea-Porter is the best candidate because New Hampshire voters expect elected officials “to stand up against injustice and support families of all varieties.”
“Instead, Dan Innis failed to fight for LGBT rights in New Hampshire as the legislature debated marriage equality,” Buckley said. “He failed them again during the fight for the Employee Non-Discrimination Act, in which strong Republican voices could have helped turn the tide, ending the ability to discriminate against someone in the workplace for simply being who they are. Meanwhile, Congresswoman Shea-Porter has consistently been on the right side of history, defending LGBT families and advancing civil rights. Dan Innis is the wrong candidate for families of all kinds in the state of New Hampshire.”
But Innis insisted that he’s the right candidate for the LGBT community because, unlike Shea-Porter, he’s lived the experience of being openly gay.
“I live it and understand it more thoroughly than she ever will. I’m LGBT; Carol Shea-Porter is not,” Innis said. “And though I appreciate her support of the community, I think the support coming from me is genuine and it’s part of me.”
It’s the new voices the gay Republican candidates are bringing to the fore that Innis said are making the campaigns valuable in and of themselves.
“I think we have three historic races,” Innis said. “Races that wouldn’t have taken place not that many years ago. And I think that in and of itself adds value for our community, and if we’re going to move equality forward, we’ve got to do it in every way possible – Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, independent, doesn’t matter — I think that if one or all of us wins, we’re that much closer to equality.”
CORRECTION: An initial version of this article incorrectly stated the Victory Fund endorsed Carl DeMaio. The Blade regrets the error.
District of Columbia
D.C.’s Mary’s House For Older Adults names new executive director
Charlene Leach to succeed Imani Woody as leader of LGBTQ-supportive seniors home
The board of directors of Mary’s House for Older Adults, the D.C.-based home dedicated to providing affordable housing for LGBTQ seniors, has announced it has named longtime nonprofit organization leader A. Charlene Leach as its new executive director.
Leach, who is now serving in the executive director’s position, is succeeding Dr. Imani Woody, the Mary’s House founding president and CEO, who announced her retirement from her official leadership role at Mary’s House on July 7.
Woody, who holds a PhD in Human Services, is credited with playing the lead role over many years in arranging both city and private funding needed to construct and operate the Mary’s House three-story building located at 401 Anacostia Road, S.E., in the city’s Fort DuPont neighborhood.
“With over three decades of nonprofit experience and 15 years serving as an executive director, Charlene brings a wealth of knowledge in organizational leadership, program development, and community engagement,” the Mary’s House board says in a statement.
“Her proven track record of building impactful programs and leading mission-driven organizations makes her uniquely suited to guide Mary’s House into its next phase of growth,” the statement continues. “Charlene is deeply aligned with the mission of Mary’s House and is committed to advancing its work to provide safe, inclusive housing and supportive services for LGBTQ+ older adults,” it says. “Under her leadership, the organization will continue to expand its impact while remaining grounded in the values that define our community.”
Leach’s LinkedIn page shows she has most recently served since 2022 as executive director of the African American AIDS Task Force in Minneapolis. Prior to that, it shows she served as executive director of the Fredericksburg Area Health and Support Services organization in Fredericksburg, Va., and before that as director of development for the D.C.-Baltimore area Women’s Collective.
Her LinkedIn page says she has been involved with Mary’s House as a volunteer and grant writer since 2016.
The newly built and enlarged Mary’s House, which opened in March 2025, with a grand opening ceremony held in May 2025 attended by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, includes 15 single-occupancy residential apartments and more than 5,000 square feet of shared communal living space.
An earlier statement released by the Mary’s House board announcing Woody’s retirement said Woody would continue to be involved with the organization as a member of the board. The earlier statement and board’s more recent statement on July 29 announcing Leach’s appointment as executive director did not say whether the board plans to name someone else as president and CEO, the title that Woody held before her retirement. But the latest statement says Leach will be running Mary’s House’s day-to-day operations as Woody did.
Virginia
Doug Ollivant to face Eugene Vindman in Va. 7th Congressional District
Republican defeated challengers in Tuesday’s primary
Republican Doug Ollivant will face off against incumbent U.S. Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-Va.) in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District.
Ollivant defeated his Republican opponents in Tuesday’s primary. Vindman ran unopposed.
Vindman in 2024 ran to succeed then-Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger in the U.S. House of Representatives after she ran for governor. Spanberger succeeded Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin in 2025.
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) on Tuesday easily won his primary. All other Democratic incumbent members of Congress from Northern Virginia also won their respective primaries.
District of Columbia
LGBTQ advocates optimistic about D.C.’s expected new mayor
Janeese Lewis George cites strong record of support as Council member
Several prominent D.C. LGBTQ community advocates said they are optimistic that Democratic mayoral nominee Janeese Lewis George, who is expected to easily win election as mayor in the city’s Nov. 3 general election, will continue her strong record of support on LGBTQ issues from her current role as a Ward 4 D.C. Council member.
But most of the seven LGBTQ advocates who responded to an informal Washington Blade survey of community leaders and activists said they would be observing Lewis George’s transition plans for her expected mayoral administration to determine if she will follow through with her campaign promises to put in place policies and funding to strongly support the LGBTQ community.
Lewis George emerged as the decisive winner in the city’s June 16 Democratic primary with 54 percent of the vote in a six-candidate race, with her lead opponent, former D.C. Council member Kenyan McDuffie (D-At-Large) receiving around 37 percent and four lesser-known candidates receiving 4 percent or less.
In a city with an overwhelmingly Democratic electorate, virtually all political observers believe Lewis George will win the November general election to become the city’s next mayor.
In the primary, she received the endorsement of the Capital Stonewall Democrats, the city’s largest local LGBTQ political organization, and received the highest possible candidate rating of +10 from GLAA DC, formerly known as the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington.
With Lewis George, McDuffie, and the four lesser-known candidates in the Democratic primary, including one who identified as bisexual, expressing strong support on LGBTQ issues, LGBTQ advocates acknowledged that most queer voters chose a candidate to support based on non-LGBTQ issues.
And Lewis George’s LGBTQ supporters have said they believe Lewis George received the largest share of the LGBTQ vote based on her outspoken support for social justice related issues, including policies to address the need for affordable housing, which she said impacts LGBTQ people in need, especially queer people of color and transgender residents.
“I think she understands a theory of community and economic development that is both inclusive of LGBTQ people but not exclusive about us,” said Benjamin Brooks, president of GLAA D.C. Brooks also currently serves as interim director of policy for one of the divisions of Whitman-Walker Health, D.C.’s LGBTQ supportive medical clinic and health services organization.
“I think that she represents a change in administration that will see more dollars to public programs that are more pro social,” Brooks said. “We’re going to be looking at who she appoints to the different agencies that we’re interested in and making sure that LGBTQ people are centered in that conversation,” he said.
Brooks added, “We know LGBTQ people were featured heavily in her campaign as organizers and as her staff members. So, I think we should expect to see us included, and she has put out a platform that lifts up all Washingtonians.”
Longtime D.C. gay Democratic activist John Klenert said he, too, will be watching to see if and how Lewis George follows up her campaign promises on LGBTQ issues.
“My number one concern will be with the budgets being what they are in the city, will she continue to fiscally support the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs?” he told the Blade. “Number two, will she continue to support the HIV type places like Whitman-Walker,” he said.
Acknowledging that Lewis George has expressed support for these types of programs during the election campaign, Klenert added, “Words are cheap. Let’s see on paper her proposals.”
D.C. gay Democratic activist Peter Rosenstein is among the few LGBTQ activists who publicly raised concern over Lewis George’s status as a Democratic Socialist and member of the controversial Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) national organization.
“I congratulate Ms. George on winning the primary and hope she will do a great job as our next mayor,” Rosenstein told the Blade in a statement. “But the issues I promulgated in the primary still go unanswered,” he said, noting that he is unaware of Lewis George saying whether she disagrees with the DSA’s platform opposing the existence of the state of Israel, not talking to any pro-Israel Zionist organizations, and, among other things, defunding U.S. police departments.
Rosenstein also noted that Lewis Geroge, as far as he knows, has not publicly rebuked one of her supporters who endorsed her for mayor, Ward 8 community activist Jauhar Abraham, who has publicly referred to gay people as “sissies” and “fags” who should not be allowed to teach in the city’s public schools.
“Will she really stand up for the LGBTQ community, or does she agree with those like Jauhar Abraham,” Rosenstein said in his statement. “These are issues she owes the voters answers to.”
Ward 8 gay longtime Democratic and community activist Phillip Pannell, who just won election in the Democratic primary as the city’s Democratic National Committeeman, is among the LGBTQ activists who supports Lewis George’s candidacy for mayor. He told the Blade that Lewis George, while not saying so directly, has made it clear she does not support what he describes as Jauhar Abraham’s anti-gay slurs.
When asked if the Abraham issue as raised by Rosenstein was a concern for him, Pannell said, “No, because I know that Jauhar Abraham’s homophobic statements are in no way in alignment with Janeese Lewis George’s support for our community.”
He added, “You can’t always judge a candidate or basically indict a candidate because of the support of some individuals. There is no way Janeese supports the type of stuff Jauhar spews.”
Like some of the other LGBTQ advocates who spoke to the Blade about Lewis George’s potential impact on the LGBTQ community, Pannell said he is optimistic about her actions as mayor.
“I expect that she will at least maintain the type of support that we are getting under Mayor Bowser if not more so,” he said. “And a good indication of her level of support would be the votes that she has cast in support of our community while she has been a member of the Council,” Pannell said.
Also, like other LGBTQ supporters of Lewis George, Pannell said he is not troubled over her role as a Democratic Socialist. “There are many people who are associated with the Democratic Party who would be very much aligned with Democratic Socialist organizations,” he said. “So that doesn’t bother me at all.”
Ashley Gibbs, who serves as board co-chair of the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center, is among the activists who said they are uncertain about Lewis George’s expected impact on the community.
“Certainly, I expect her to win in November given the demographics of D.C.,” she said. “I have to admit I live in Maryland now, so I am less clued into D.C. politics than I used to be,” she added. “So, I think it’s a big unknown. I think we’re just going to have to wait and see what happens and how well Janeese can make things given the federal government.”
David Perruzza, owner of the D.C. LGBTQ bars Pitchers and A League of Her Own, located in the Adams Morgan neighborhood, like other LGBTQ bar owners, said he preferred not to comment on the ins and outs of the race for mayor
But similar to other nightlife related small businesses in the city, including bars and restaurants, Perruzza said he was deeply troubled over what he believed to be Lewis George’s support for ending the so-called tip wage system for bars and restaurants. He said most LGBTQ bar owners believe doing that could force them to go out of business due to excessive labor costs.
Under the tip wage system, which has been in place in D.C. and other cities and states for many years, businesses that employ servers who receive tips can pay them a significantly lower minimum wage called the tip wage compared to the regular minimum wage, which is now $18.40 per hour in D.C. At the initiative of local labor groups, D.C. voters in 2022 approved for the second time Initiative 82, which called for raising the minimum wage for tipped workers to the full minimum wage over a phase-in period of 10 years or more.
Organizations representing local restaurants and bars said most tipped workers make close to if not more than the full minimum wage in tips, and that under the current D.C. law, businesses are required to pay tipped workers the difference if they don’t make the equivalent of the full minimum wage in tips.
They argued that the initial raising of the tip wage from just over $5 per hour to several dollars more an hour created a financial hardship that was forcing many of them to go out of business. The mayor and D.C. Council responded by repealing Initiative 82 and later putting in place in 2025 a compromise law supported by the business owners that brought the tip minimum wage to $10.30 per hour as of July 1, 2026.
The new law calls for the tip minimum wage to increase to 60 percent of the full minimum wage by 2028 and increase incrementally by 5 percent until it reaches 75 percent of the full minimum wage in 2034.
D.C. Council records show that Lewis George voted against the compromise bill when the Council approved it in July of 2025 as an amendment to the city’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget.
Local nightlife advocate and small business owner Salah Czapary, who served as Mayor Bowser’s director of the D.C. Office of Nightlife and Culture from 2022 to 2024, said Lewis George told a group of nightlife business operators and owners during a meeting in May that she opposes yet another ballot measure proposed by the labor advocacy group One Fair Wage that calls for raising the city’s minimum wage for all workers to $25 per hour and for eliminating the subminimum wage for tipped workers.
“I was in the room when she explained to a room full of nightlife small business, arts, and cultural operators that she has spoken with experts in the field,” Czapary told the Blade. He said Lewis George told the gathering that she did not support the latest wage initiative that was attempting to get on the ballot, which was a concern to business owners at the time.
“And I think that’s actually quite impressive for a lawmaker to do when everyone assumes you would support a certain initiative,” he said in referring to Lewis George. “To have one view and then assess the reality that might have changed. And then say that while I agree with the idea of raising the wages — I think most people do — we also don’t live in a vacuum. We have to deal with the realities of the economy,” Czapary said.
“I think D.C., as we know, has been a safe haven for LGBTQ individuals from across the country and has been very progressive on its treatment of LGBTQ people,” he said. “I think we will not expect that to change under our new mayor,” he added. “She was endorsed by many LGBTQ individuals and organizations, and she will continue to build on that progress we’ve made as a city, and we will continue to be that safe haven for people.”
Edmund Morris, president of the D.C. Equality Chamber of Commerce, which he said represents more than 100 LGBTQ+ and allied businesses serving the D.C. Metro area, released a short statement in response to the Blade’s request for comment on the impact his group expects Lewis George to have on the LGBTQ community.
“Janeese Lewis George has emphasized inclusive policies and support for local small businesses, priorities that align with our mission,” the statement says. “We look forward to productively engaging a future administration on how best to support aspiring and active entrepreneurs to flourish in the city that they serve,” it says.
Nick Tsusaki, founder and owner of the D.C. LGBTQ bar Spark Social, said he preferred not to comment on the impact Lewis George will have on policy related to LGBTQ issues. But he said he was impressed by Lewis George’s visits to several LGBTQ bars during the primary campaign.
“I’m really excited for her” he said, “I think she made a point in her last week of campaigning to do like an LGBTQ bar crawl. She came to Spark, to Trade and Bunker,” he said referring to two other D.C. LGBTQ bars. “And really showing dedication to the community in a way that went above and beyond what I had expected –really meeting the community where we’re at.”
He added, “And so, for her to drop in on a Friday night and just talk to – get on the microphone and talk about why she’s excited to fight for our community was really cool to see in an authentic way.”
In response to requests by the Blade and Capital Stonewall Democrats seeking statements from each of the mayoral candidates during the primary campaign, Lewis George submitted these comments, which are excerpted from a longer statement.
“As mayor, I will protect our LGBTQ+ neighbors against federal attacks on their identity, including their health care. … On the Council I have been a strong supporter of pro-LGBTQ+ bills, including making D.C. a sanctuary for people seeking gender-affirming health care as well as addressing discrimination and harassment in nightlife and hospitality…And as mayor, I am prepared to move up and win those fights – a fight for D.C. statehood, a fight for our true economy, and a real opportunity to uplift our Black queer and trans youth.”
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