News
Rep. Cicilline wins re-election in R.I.
Gay former mayor of Providence won re-election to Congress on Tuesday in a district where Democrats outnumber Republicans 3 to 1
Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Gay Rep. David Cicilline won re-election to Congress on Tuesday from Rhode Island.
Cicilline, a former two-term mayor of Providence, should have had a relatively easy race for a second term in office in a district where Democrats outnumber Republicans by a 3 to 1 margin, according to most political observers in Rhode Island.
But the openly gay Democratic congressman became the target of intense criticism by both Republicans and many Democrats last year when news surfaced that he allegedly concealed a $110 million or greater budget deficit for Providence during his last year as mayor.
Earlier this year, Cicilline apologized for a remark he made while campaigning for his first term in the House in 2010 that Providence’s finances were in “excellent” shape, saying his choice of words was not accurate.
Anthony Gemma, his challenger in the Democratic primary, raised the Providence fiscal issue as a major part of his campaign. However, Cicilline won the primary with 60 percent of the vote, leading some to believe that voters might not hold the Providence budget shortfall against Cicilline, who argued that it was due mostly to the national recession and a large cutback in city funding by the state government.
Doherty, however, raised the issue in the general election campaign, saying Cicilline’s handling of the city’s fiscal issues raised serious questions about his character and credibility.
Ray Sullivan, campaign director for Marriage Equality Rhode Island, a statewide group advocating for a same-sex marriage law before the state legislature, said that while Doherty expressed opposition to same-sex marriage, neither he nor his campaign raised same-sex marriage or other LGBT issues to attack Cicilline.
Cicilline is a strong supporter of marriage equality and is a co-sponsor of a House bill to repeal the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act. He’s also a co-sponsor of all other LGBT supportive bills pending in Congress, including the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA.
Sullivan and others supporting Cicilline said Doherty, while steering clear of gay rights issues, unleashed a barrage of negative TV ads attacking Cicilline on non-LGBT issues. One accused Cicilline of having ties to a child molester and murderer whom Cicilline represented in court more than 20 years ago when he worked as a defense lawyer.
“What do a child molester, a murder and a violent attacker all have in common? Defense attorney David Cicilline,” said the narrator of the ad, which was paid for by the National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said the ad represented the worst form of “gutter politics.” Other Cicilline supporters denounced the ad for seeking to link Cicilline to the acts of criminals that lawyers have a duty to represent in court under the nation’s criminal justice system.
Six months ago, prior to the Democratic primary, polls showed Cicilline trailing Doherty by more than 10 points, but by early October Cicilline made what some called a remarkable recovery, gaining a six point lead over Doherty. But following the attack ads by Doherty in October, Cicilline’s lead narrowed to just one point less than a week before the election in what most pollsters called a statistical tie.
Former President Bill Clinton was among a long list of prominent Democrats who endorsed Cicilline. The Providence Journal, which endorsed Cicilline two years ago, endorsed Doherty this time.
Virginia
VIDEO: LGBTQ groups march in Va. inaugural parade
Abigail Spanberger took office on Saturday
The inaugural ceremonies for Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger were held in Richmond, Va. on Saturday. Among the groups marching in the parade were Diversity Richmond and the Virginia Pride project of Diversity Richmond.
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Virginia
Va. Senate approves referendum to repeal marriage amendment
Outgoing state Sen. Adam Ebbin introduced SJ3
The Virginia Senate on Friday by a 26-13 vote margin approved a resolution that seeks to repeal a state constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
Outgoing state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) introduced SJ3. The Senate Privileges and Elections Committee on Wednesday approved it by a 10-4 vote margin.
Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in Virginia since 2014. Outgoing Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin in 2024 signed a bill that codified marriage equality in state law.
A resolution that seeks to repeal the Marshall-Newman Amendment passed in the General Assembly in 2021. The resolution passed again in 2025.
Two successive legislatures must approve the resolution before it can go to the ballot. Democrats in the Virginia House of Delegates have said the resolution’s passage is among their 2026 legislative priorities.
“It’s time for Virginia’s Constitution to reflect the law of the land and the values of today,” said Ebbin after Friday’s vote. “This amendment, if approved by voters, would affirm the dignity of all committed couples and protects marriage equality for future generations.”
Florida
DNC slams White House for slashing Fla. AIDS funding
State will have to cut medications for more than 16,000 people
The Trump-Vance administration and congressional Republicans’ “Big Beautiful Bill” could strip more than 10,000 Floridians of life-saving HIV medication.
The Florida Department of Health announced there would be large cuts to the AIDS Drug Assistance Program in the Sunshine State. The program switched from covering those making up to 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, which was anyone making $62,600 or less, in 2025, to only covering those making up to 130 percent of the FPL, or $20,345 a year in 2026.
Cuts to the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, which provides medication to low-income people living with HIV/AIDS, will prevent a dramatic $120 million funding shortfall as a result of the Big Beautiful Bill according to the Florida Department of Health.
The International Association of Providers of AIDS Care and Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo warned that the situation could easily become a “crisis” without changing the current funding setup.
“It is a serious issue,” Ladapo told the Tampa Bay Times. “It’s a really, really serious issue.”
The Florida Department of Health currently has a “UPDATES TO ADAP” warning on the state’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program webpage, recommending Floridians who once relied on tax credits and subsidies to pay for their costly HIV/AIDS medication to find other avenues to get the crucial medications — including through linking addresses of Florida Association of Community Health Centers and listing Florida Non-Profit HIV/AIDS Organizations rather than have the government pay for it.
HIV disproportionately impacts low income people, people of color, and LGBTQ people
The Tampa Bay Times first published this story on Thursday, which began gaining attention in the Sunshine State, eventually leading the Democratic Party to, once again, condemn the Big Beautiful Bill pushed by congressional republicans.
“Cruelty is a feature and not a bug of the Trump administration. In the latest attack on the LGBTQ+ community, Donald Trump and Florida Republicans are ripping away life-saving HIV medication from over 10,000 Floridians because they refuse to extend enhanced ACA tax credits,” Democratic National Committee spokesperson Albert Fujii told the Washington Blade. “While Donald Trump and his allies continue to make clear that they don’t give a damn about millions of Americans and our community, Democrats will keep fighting to protect health care for LGBTQ+ Americans across the country.”
More than 4.7 million people in Florida receive health insurance through the federal marketplace, according to KKF, an independent source for health policy research and polling. That is the largest amount of people in any state to be receiving federal health care — despite it only being the third most populous state.
Florida also has one of the largest shares of people who use the AIDS Drug Assistance Program who are on the federal marketplace: about 31 percent as of 2023, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
“I can’t understand why there’s been no transparency,” David Poole also told the Times, who oversaw Florida’s AIDS program from 1993 to 2005. “There is something seriously wrong.”
The National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors estimates that more than 16,000 people will lose coverage
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