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Former Victory Fund president among N.Y. 18th Congressional District candidates

Aisha Mills’ fundraising numbers lag behind other Democrats.

Published

4 years ago

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Aisha Mills (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

New York’s 18th Congressional District is widely seen as one of a handful of seats that will determine which party secures control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the midterm elections.

The district has established itself in recent years as reliably Democratic, having been held for the last decade by Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Sean Patrick Maloney. 

Following a challenge to the state’s redistricting process in 2020, however, maps that had been drawn by the New York State Legislature were ruled unconstitutional by state courts that determined they were the result of partisan gerrymandering.

The process eventually caused Maloney, who is openly gay, to instead announce his election bid for the state’s 17th Congressional District in which he now resides.

“While the process to draw these maps without the legislature is against the will of voters, if the newly-announced maps are finalized, I will run in New York’s 17th Congressional District,” Maloney tweeted. “NY-17 includes my home and many of the Hudson Valley communities I currently represent.”

The congressman further justified his transition in a follow-up tweet in which he noted that he was the only current House member to live in the new 17th Congressional District.

Maloney’s established presence in the district had allowed him to maintain steady leads over several election cycles, routinely besting Republican challengers by more than 10 percentage points in each election since 2016.

With Maloney’s departure, however, the race that the Cook Political Report rates as a R +1 is now seen as a tossup that will help determine whether Democrats can maintain their congressional majority.

With Maloney’s seat now vacant of an incumbent, multiple Democratic challengers have stepped up in hopes of taking his place in Congress. They include former LGBTQ Victory Fund President Aisha Mills.

Mills, the former executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus PAC, would be the first Black lesbian member of Congress if elected.

“We launched this campaign a short month ago when it became clear that this seat would be open due to redistricting,” Mills wrote on Facebook after announcing her run in July. “We are excited to hit the campaign trail to bring our progressive messaging directly to the voters of the 18th Congressional District.”

Mills will face off against Moses Mugulusi, digital designer Michael Berean and Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan in her bid for her party’s nomination. The winner of the Democratic primary will go on to face Republican state Assemblyman Colin Schmitt in the November general election.

Past polls conducted in the district suggested Maloney’s ability to hold on to his seat. It is unclear, however, how Mills and the new wave of Democratic candidates in the district may fair in their primary or in the general election later this year.

Campaign finance data also suggests that Mills faces an uphill battle in both the primary as well in a potential matchup against Schmitt.

Schmitt’s campaign boasted $601,065 on hand compared to Mills’ $11,979 as of June 30, according to the Federal Election Commission. Ryan had similarly amassed $575,501 by the end of June, although much of his messaging focus thus far has been targeted at the special election for New York’s 19th Congressional District for which he is also running.

Despite the uncertain political landscape of the district, Mills has maintained public optimism that she will be able to prevail in keeping the seat in Democratic hands and making history along the way.

“I will fight for working families and organize with local leaders on issues that matter to all of us within Orange, Dutchess, and Ulster Counties,” Mills tweeted. “I know that if we work together, we can elect the first Black gay woman to Congress.”

The Washington Blade has reached out to Mills for comment about her campaign.

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Congress

HRC president campaigns for Chris Pappas in NH

Gay congressman running to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen

Published

1 week ago

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August 31, 2026

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Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson, left, campaigns with U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) in Manchester, N.H., on Aug. 30, 2026. (Photo courtesy of the Human Rights Campaign)

Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson on Sunday campaigned for U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) in New Hampshire.

Robinson traveled to Manchester, the state’s largest city, nine days before the Sept. 8 primary that will determine who will vie for retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.)’s seat.

Former U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu, who represented New Hampshire in the U.S. Senate from 2003-2009, will face off against former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, who represented Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate from 2010-2013, in the Republican primary.

Karishma Manzur is among the Democrats challenging Pappas.

A poll the University of New Hampshire Survey Center released on Aug. 26 shows Sununu is ahead of Brown. The same survey shows Pappas ahead of Manzur and his other Democratic challengers.

The UNH Survey Center poll shows Sununu ahead of Pappas by a 45-43 percent margin if they were to face off in the general election. The margin of error is +/-2.1 percent.

Pappas would become the first openly gay man elected to the U.S. Senate if he were to win in November.

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Congress

Chris Van Hollen says the Democratic Party needs change. Is he the one to lead it?

Senator is backing anti-establishment Democrats across the country

Published

2 weeks ago

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August 26, 2026

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By LEE O. SANDERLIN | The Democratic Party is having something of an identity crisis — losing to President Donald Trump twice in three elections will do that.

Should the party embrace anti-establishment figures who espouse progressive policy ideas like Medicare for all and rhetoric about unrigging the economy for the 1 percent? Or should Democrats try to appeal to moderates who want to return to semi-normalcy in a time of political upheaval?

Although he’s been in Congress since 2002, with key leadership roles throughout his tenure, Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, 67, counts himself firmly in the anti-establishment camp.

The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

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Congress

House blocks effort to codify transgender servicemember ban into law

Lawmakers approved two anti-trans NDAA amendments

Published

2 months ago

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July 22, 2026

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The Pentagon (Photo by icholakov/Bigstock)

The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday rejected an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would have codified a ban transgender servicemembers in the military.

The bipartisan vote was 212-217.

The NDAA is for the 2027 fiscal year and sets policies for the Defense Department programs and activities and the national security programs of the Department of Energy.

U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) proposed the amendment on July 21. It stated that all personnel are required to serve in accordance with their biological sex, citing military readiness and discipline.

Human Rights Campaign Senior Director of Government Affairs Jennifer Pike Bailey stated that she is grateful for the bipartisan vote that rejected President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s “dangerous and discriminatory policy that has kicked brave transgender servicemembers out of the military and weakened our national security.”

“Everyone who meets the same rigorous standards should be able to serve their country. We should honor that patriotism, particularly in this moment where we are witnessing brave servicemembers making the ultimate sacrifice for our country, instead of ending their careers and politicizing their existence. We’re grateful that a permanent extension of this ban failed, and we will keep fighting to reverse this senseless policy,” Bailey said.

Mark Takano, chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, stated that he and his members put in countless hours of work to kill the amendment.

“When Americans know they or their families are going to be targeted by or not supported by the military, that leads them to avoid signing up to serve or staying in the service — making it harder to keep the ranks of the armed services full and our nation safe. My colleagues in the Equality Caucus and I will continue working to prevent these attacks on our servicemembers and their families from becoming law,” Takano said.

According to the Congressional Equality Caucus, two other bills could potentially be passed that would also target the transgender community, both of which were proposed by U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.).

The first was a bill that would have prohibited gender-related medical care under TRICARE and to prevent TRICARE from covering certain gender-related medical procedures and treatments, which was approved in a vote of 219-208.

The second was a bill that would have prohibited male participation in female sports at DoDEA schools. DoDEA schools are Department of Defense Dependents Schools, which is a network of primary and secondary schools.

The amendment was approved in a vote of 221-203. 

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