Local
Gay Del. candidates lose bids for office
Andy Staton and Marie Mayor lost their bids to become first openly gay candidates elected to Del. legislature
Andy Staton sought a seat in the Delaware Senate but fell short Tuesday. (Photo courtesy Prugallo.com)
Gay Democrats Andy Staton and Marie Mayor lost their bids to become the first openly gay candidates elected to the Delaware Legislature on Tuesday in districts where large numbers of LGBT people live.
Staton, a real estate agent in the popular gay beach resort town of Rehoboth Beach, ran for a seat in the Delaware Senate in a newly created district that included Rehoboth Beach and the nearby towns of Lewes, Dewey Beach and Milton.
Supporters believed Staton had a good chance of winning in the majority Democratic district, which was viewed as being more progressive-leaning than surrounding parts of Republican dominated Sussex County.
Final but unofficial returns from the Delaware Board of Elections show Staton received 42.7 percent of the vote compared to Republican challenger Ernesto Lopez, who received 56.1 percent. Libertarian candidate Gwendolyn Jones received 1.2 percent.
In a nearby district, lesbian businesswoman Marie Mayor was believed to have a shot at winning a seat in the Delaware House of Representatives in a district in Milton. Mayor received 46.8 percent of the vote, losing to Republican Stephen Smyk, who received 53.2 percent.
When asked why Staton and Mayor fell short of predictions by some that they were poised to win their races, gay Democratic activist Peter Schott, an official with Stonewall Democrats of Delaware, said: “It’s very simple. The whole county has become increasingly more Republican.”
Staton, who couldn’t immediately be reached for comment, told the Blade last week that he was optimistic about his prospects for winning.
“People are responding overwhelmingly,” he said, referring to his campaign’s TV ads.
Delaware Gov. Jack Markell, state Attorney General Beau Biden, U.S. Sens. Chris Coons and Tom Carper were among the big name elected officials that endorsed Staton.
Photos
PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards
Gay Men’s Chorus, local drag artists have featured performance at ceremony
The 41st Helen Hayes Awards were held at The Anthem on Monday, May 19. Felicia Curry and Mike Millan served as the hosts.
A performance featuring members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington and local drag artists was held at the end of the first act of the program to celebrate WorldPride 2025.
The annual awards ceremony honors achievement in D.C.-area theater productions and is produced by Theatre Washington.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
District of Columbia
Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals
Three LGBTQ icons to lead parade
WorldPride organizers announced Thursday that actress and trans activist Laverne Cox, powerhouse performer Reneé Rapp, and LGBTQ trailblazer Deacon Maccubbin will serve as grand marshals for this year’s WorldPride parade.
The Capital Pride Alliance, which is organizing WorldPride 2025 in Washington, D.C., revealed the honorees in a press release, noting that each has made a unique contribution to the fabric of the LGBTQ community.
Cox made history in 2014 as the first openly transgender person nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category for her role in Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black.” She went on to win a Daytime Emmy in 2015 for her documentary “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word,” which followed seven young trans people as they navigated coming out.
Rapp, a singer and actress who identifies as a lesbian, rose to prominence as Regina George in the Broadway musical “Mean Girls.” She reprised the role in the 2024 film adaptation and also stars in Max’s “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” portraying a character coming to terms with her sexuality. Rapp has released an EP, “Everything to Everyone,” and an album, “Snow Angel.” She announced her sophomore album, “Bite Me,” on May 21 and is slated to perform at the WorldPride Music Festival at the RFK Festival Grounds.
Deacon Maccubbin, widely regarded as a cornerstone of Washington’s LGBTQ+ history, helped organize D.C.’s first Gay Pride Party in 1975. The event took place outside Lambda Rising, one of the first LGBTQ bookstores in the nation, which Maccubbin founded. For his decades of advocacy and activism, he is often referred to as “the patriarch of D.C. Pride.”
“I am so honored to serve as one of the grand marshals for WorldPride this year. This has been one of the most difficult times in recent history for queer and trans people globally,” Cox said. “But in the face of all the rhetorical, legislative and physical attacks, we continue to have the courage to embrace who we truly are, to celebrate our beauty, resilience and bravery as a community. We refuse to allow fear to keep us from ourselves and each other. We remain out loud and proud.”
“Pride is everything. It is protection, it is visibility, it is intersectional. But most importantly, it is a celebration of existence and protest,” Rapp said.
The three will march down 14th Street for the WorldPride Parade in Washington on June 7.
2025 D.C. Trans Pride was held at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on Saturday, May 17. The day was filled with panel discussions, art, social events, speakers, a resource fair and the Engendered Spirit Awards. Awardees included Lyra McMillan, Pip Baitinger, Steph Niaupari and Hayden Gise. The keynote address was delivered by athlete and advocate Schuyler Bailar.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards
Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals
House passes reconciliation with gender-affirming care funding ban
PHOTOS: D.C. Trans Pride
Men convicted of murdering two men in NYC gay bar drugging scheme sentenced
Looking back at 50 years of Pride in D.C
WorldPride events round-up
Pope Leo XIV: Family based on ‘stable union between a man and a woman’
Wes Moore signs HIV decriminalization bill
