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Trump wins presidency

Easily claims victory in key battleground states, smashing ‘Blue Wall’

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(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Former President Donald Trump is set to become president-elect Donald Trump after winning Wisconsin Wednesday morning, clinching 277 of the 270 necessary electoral votes.

He will return to the White House with a Republican Senate, though control of the U.S. House of Representatives remains in limbo with many key contests too close to call.

Vice President Kamala Harris cancelled a planned appearance at her campaign’s watch party at Howard University, her alma mater, on Tuesday. As of Wednesday morning at 7 a.m., she had not yet conceded the race.

Trump pulled ahead Tuesday night with a major victory in the swing state of North Carolina and a projected win in Georgia that was later made official.

He then picked up other major battleground state wins in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Reaction to the news of Trump’s win is trickling in slowly.  LPAC, the nation’s only organization dedicated to advancing the political representation of LGBTQ women and nonbinary candidates, responded.

“A victory for Trump and his racist, fascist and misogynist platform is not a victory for America,” said Janelle Perez, executive director of LPAC. “Today, we mourn not only the loss of a true leader, but also the dream that Kamala Harris might be the first woman, the first woman of color, and the first South Asian person to serve as president of the United States. This is a profound loss for the country we believe in—a place where every one of us, regardless of who we are, is treated fairly and our fundamental rights are upheld.”

AIDS United expressed concern about the fight against HIV as a new Republican administration prepares to take over.

“Now, more than ever, we must act with urgency to ensure that President-Elect Donald Trump and Vice-President Elect JD Vance understand that critical services and resources that people living with HIV depend on are not to be compromised,” said Jesse Milan, Jr., president and CEO of AIDS United.  

The Human Rights Campaign released a statement Wednesday morning by its president, Kelley Robinson:

“Like millions of other Americans, we’re heartbroken by the results of the presidential election, as well as the loss of other pro-equality champions across the country. We know our community is feeling scared, angry, and worried about what’s next for them and their families. We see you – there’s no question that we will face more challenges in the years to come in as part of our fight for full LGBTQ+ equality. But our ancestors taught us that resilience is our superpower. Make no mistake — we are not backing down. And we are going to continue to show up for each other and for the march toward progress — no matter what.

“Despite these disappointing results, we see undeniable proof of hope for the future. Sarah McBride, a trail-blazing champion for Delawareans, will be sworn in this January as the first ever openly transgender member of Congress. Julie Johnson, a dedicated fighter for civil rights and longtime HRC champion, will be the first ever LGBTQ+ member of Congress from the South. Emily Randall is poised to become the first Latina lesbian elected to Congress, and while many races are yet to be called, Senator Tammy Baldwin is on her way to returning to Washington alongside many other LGBTQ+ champions. Marriage equality amendments prevailed with overwhelming support in California and Colorado. And across the country, voters continued to pass ballot referendums protecting access to abortion in the face of an onslaught of misleading transphobic attacks–just the latest example that attacks on the trans community are political losers.

“For more than 40 years, HRC has been on the front lines of the fight for LGBTQ+ equality — one of the most powerful movements this country has ever seen. From Stonewall to the AIDS crisis to attacks against transgender Americans and our unwavering fight for marriage equality at the Supreme Court, the LGBTQ+ community has always persevered and defied the odds to make progress that once seemed unimaginable.

“The path ahead will be challenging, but we are prepared. We will use every tool at our disposal–from advocacy to education to litigation to campaigns–to protect our communities and advance progress where we can. We will build power by building each other up, with a dedication to forging a better path for our future. To every LGBTQ+ person feeling scared, I see you. I feel you. And I need you to hear this: You are not alone. You are loved. You are worthy. And you have an entire community standing with you, today and every day.”

Lambda Legal President Kevin Jennings released a statement:

“We won’t sugarcoat this – last night’s election results were incredibly detrimental to the cause of equality. There is no doubt that many of us feel scared, angry, and perhaps demoralized. And we are not naïve: we are entering a seriously dangerous period confronted by a new administration and at least one house of Congress that have made their hostility to our community crystal clear.

“Lambda Legal has been strategizing and planning for this possibility, and we will expend every energy to hold the line. We all know we have tough battles ahead. But we’ve overcome difficult odds repeatedly before and have won landmark victories throughout Lambda Legal’s fifty-year history.  Lambda Legal successfully blocked multiple attacks by the first Trump administration, and we are ready to oppose any anti-LGBTQ+ actions this new administration takes.”

GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis issued a statement:

“The LGBTQ community has been here before, as have all other marginalized communities, and the pain is real today. But as we saw from the Lavender Scare to the Stonewall riots, from the HIV epidemic to the defeat and victory for marriage, every breakdown can lead to a breakthrough. We must see this moment of crisis as another catalyst for change. 

“Our community knows how to take care of each other, and how to push our country and world forward. The mission remains: Hold leaders accountable to We, the People. Empower each person to use their voice for progress with kindness. Correct the record. Shape culture. Change hearts and minds. Rise up for intersectional issues including racial justice, abortion and immigration. GLAAD was founded nearly forty years ago with the knowledge that LGBTQ people and our stories would create a better world. Our work has renewed importance and urgency. LGBTQ people belong and are essential to the promise of America as a beacon of equality and acceptance.”

PFLAG National President Brian Bond released a statement:

“Today, PFLAG’s hundreds of thousands of members and supporters across the country have witnessed a devastating result for people whose loved ones have been targeted for harm by policies, disenfranchisement and worse.  

“Yet, just as the LGBTQ+ people, families and allies of PFLAG have always joined the march for freedom, we are united in this fight to protect and respect every member of our community.

“Despite the many setbacks and disappointments this election represents for our community, there are many historic victories for LGBTQ+ people, families and allies to celebrate. Sarah McBride will be sworn in as the first openly transgender Member of Congress, representing Delaware. With the elections of Angela Alsobrooks and Lisa Blunt Rochester to the Senate, that body has more black women members serving together than at any other time in history. Plus, California, Colorado, and Hawaii have enshrined marriage equality for same-sex couples in their state constitutions, and eight states, including Nebraska and my home state of Missouri, have ensured access to abortion.  

“Our LGBTQ+ loved ones and families are scared right now. But make no mistake, PFLAG is not backing down from this fight. For over five decades, PFLAG has been leading with love to overcome dark efforts. We are uniquely able to meet this moment, to soften hearts, to change minds, and to support our community. 

“PFLAG will continue to show up for our LGBTQ+ loved ones, from the state house to the courthouse, the schoolhouse steps to the steps of the U.S. Capitol and Supreme Court. We’ve got this. We’ve got us.”

The Congressional Equality Caucus posted a statement on X: “Our fight for equality is a story of victories, setbacks, and our determination to keep moving forward. We will face this next challenge together, united in the belief that, in the long term, equality will win out & love will trump hate. We’ll never stop fighting for equality.”

National Women’s Law Center Action Fund President Fatima Goss Graves released a statement:

“This is the outcome that we feared and fought tirelessly to prevent. While it’s a dark day for our democracy, let’s remember that Donald Trump is not a king. He is not a dictator. He is one branch of our democratic government, and he and his administration can be kept in check so long as the people, our institutions, and those who hold power refuse to bow to his authoritarian tendencies.  

“Millions of people in this country voted for a different future, one that protects reproductive freedom, expands affordable caregiving, and ensures our schools are safe and inclusive. These issues are core to people’s lives and the majority of people support measures that advance gender justice – you see that in the ballot measures that passed for child care and abortion access, you see that in the polling that shows overwhelming support for reproductive freedom, action on caregiving, and ensuring billionaires pay their fair share. Vice President Harris knew this, and she ran her remarkable and historic campaign in service of a safer, more equal, more free, and more just future for everyone in this country.  

“Armed with insights from the Project 2025 agenda, we are prepared. We’ve navigated the challenges of a Trump administration before, and together, we will rise to face this one. The next four years will undoubtedly be difficult, but our staff remains steadfast in its determination to ensure that all women and girls have the opportunity to thrive, regardless of who holds the White House.”

The HIV + Hepatitis Policy Institute released a statement by its president, Carl Schmid:

“The American people have spoken and elected Donald Trump and JD Vance as our next president and vice president. The HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute will work with the new administration on furthering efforts to end HIV and hepatitis in the United States. With proper leadership, policies, and funding, we can end both these infectious diseases.

“In his 2019 State of the Union address, Trump announced that we would ‘eliminate the HIV epidemic in the United States within 10 years.’ This led to the historic Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative that increases HIV testing, treatment and prevention programs, including scaling up PrEP, which are drugs that prevent HIV.

“At the same time, his administration proposed cuts to other HIV and health programs and proposed to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, including its non-discrimination protections.

“Ending HIV and hepatitis cannot happen without a comprehensive healthcare system that includes robust private insurance, Medicaid and Medicare programs, upholding non-discrimination protections, and combating stigma and disparities. Healthcare access and affordability, particularly for prescription drugs, are critically important. We will continue to fight to ensure all payers provide the drugs people need at a price they can afford. Of immediate concern for the new administration will be ensuring that copay assistance patients receive to afford their drugs will count towards their out-of-pocket cost obligations.

“We look forward to working with President-elect Trump on ensuring that the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative is fully funded and expanded in order to fulfill the goal of ending HIV in the United States. In recent years, House Republicans have proposed to eliminate funding for the program.

“There will be many policy and funding decisions that the Trump-Vance administration must make and work with the new Congress to pass. We realize that we live in a divided country and not everyone shares the same priorities and views. However, no matter one’s views, these decisions must be based on science so that we can continue to advance the interests of people living with or at risk of HIV and hepatitis and others who live with serious and chronic health conditions.”

Rodney Croome, founder of Australian Marriage Equality, in an X post echoed the concerns of activists in the U.S.

“Australia’s LGBTIQA+ community will suffer from increased hate and from local politicians imitating Trump,” said Croome. “But the response to authoritarianism is not to retreat. It is to empower more voices, have higher expectations, create a more democratic movement and defend each other.”

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Politics

Pro-trans candidates triumph despite millions in transphobic ads

Election results a potential blueprint for 2026 campaigns

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Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger campaigns ahead of Election Day. (Photo courtesy of Spanberger's campaign)

Activists and political observers say the major Democratic victories on the East Coast last week prove anti-transgender attacks are no longer effective.

Democrats in Virginia, New Jersey, and New York who defended transgender rights directly — Abigail Spanberger, Mikie Sherrill, and Zohran Mamdani — won decisively, while Republicans who invested millions in anti-trans fearmongering were rejected by voters.

This contrasts sharply with the messaging coming out of the White House.

The Trump-Vance administration has pursued a hardline anti-trans agenda since taking office, from attempting to ban trans military members from serving to enforcing bathroom and sports bans. But this winning strategy may not be as solid for their voters as it once seemed.

The Washington Blade attended a post-election meeting hosted by the Human Rights Campaign, where LGBTQ advocates and political leaders reflected on the results and discussed how to build on the momentum heading into 2026 — as the Trump-Vance administration doubles down on its anti-trans agenda.

Among those on the call was U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.), the first openly trans person ever elected to Congress. Having run one of the nation’s most visible pro-trans campaigns, McBride said voters made their priorities clear.

“Voters made clear yesterday that they will reject campaigns built on hatred. They will reject campaigns that seek to divide us, and they will reject candidates that offer no solutions for the cost-of-living crisis this country is facing.”

McBride cited the Virginia governor’s race as a clear example of how a candidate can uplift trans people — specifically when their opponent is targeting kids — but also refocus the conversation on topics Americans truly care about: the economy, tariffs, mortgage rates, and the preservation of democracy.

“We saw millions of dollars in anti-trans attacks in Virginia, but we saw Governor-elect Spanberger respond. She defended her trans constituents, met voters with respect and grace, and ran a campaign that opened hearts and changed minds,” McBride said.

“That is the future of our politics. That is how we win — by combating misinformation, caricatures, fearmongering, and scapegoating.”

She added that the elections in Virginia, New Jersey, and New York offer a “blueprint” for how Democrats can effectively respond to GOP attacks and win “in the face of hatred.”

“When you dive into the data and you look in New Jersey, Virginia — you see the progress that pro-equality candidates have made in urban, suburban, and rural communities, among voters of every background and identity,” McBride said. “You see that we can compete everywhere … When we perform a politics that’s rooted in three concepts, we win.

“One is a politics of affordability — we prioritize the issues keeping voters up at night, the cost-of-living crisis. Two, we are curious, not judgmental — as candidates, we meet people where they are, hold true to our values, but extend grace so people can grow. And three, we root our politics in a sense of place.”

“All of these candidates were deeply committed to their districts, to their state, to their city,” she continued. “Voters responded because they were able to see a politics that transcended partisanship and ideology … about building community with one another, across our disagreements and our differences. When we as pro-equality candidates embody that type of politics — a politics of affordability, curiosity, and community — we win.”

Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson echoed McBride’s sentiment — once again moving away from the bogeyman Republicans have made trans children out to be and refocusing on politics that matter to people’s everyday lives.

“Anti-trans extremists poured millions into fearmongering, hoping cruelty could substitute for leadership — and once again, it failed,” Robinson said. “Fear can’t fill a prescription. Division doesn’t lower rent or put food on the table. Voters saw through the distraction.”

Robinson then detailed how much money Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the Republican who challenged Spanberger, spent on these ads — showing that even with money and a PAC standing behind her (like the Republican Governors Association’s Right Direction PAC, which gave her $9.5 million), success isn’t possible without a message that connects with constituents.

“In Virginia, Abigail Spanberger made history defeating Winsome Earle-Sears and more than $9 million of anti-trans attack ads. She didn’t flinch. She didn’t hide from her values. She led with them — and Virginians rewarded that courage.”

Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman went into further detail on how the Republican nominee for Virginia’s governor leaned into transphobia.

“Winsome Earle-Sears spent more than 60 percent of her paid media budget attacking transgender kids — an unprecedented amount — and it failed.”

Rahaman continued, saying the results send a message to the whole country, noting that only 3 percent of voters ranked trans issues as a top concern by the end of October.

“Virginia voters sent a resounding message that anti-trans fearmongering is not a winning strategy — not here in Virginia, and not anywhere else,” Rahaman said. “Candidates who met these attacks head-on with messages rooted in freedom, safety, and fairness saw overwhelming success. Attacking transgender youth is not a path to power. It is a moral dead end — and a political one too.”

Virginia state Del. Joshua Cole (D-Fredericksburg), who was also on the call, put it bluntly:

“Republicans have now become champions of campaigning on bullying kids — and we saw last night that that was a losing tactic.”

“Virginians came out en masse to say we believe in protecting our neighbors, protecting our friends — and standing up for everybody.”

That message rang true well beyond Virginia.

In New Jersey, Rep. Mikie Sherrill pushed back against GOP efforts to weaponize trans issues, telling voters, “When you really talk to people, they have empathy. They understand these are kids, these are families, and they deserve our support.”

And in New York, state Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani released a pre-election ad honoring trans liberation icon Sylvia Rivera, declaring, “New York will not sit idly by while trans people are attacked.”

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Politics

Former VP Dick Cheney dies at 84

Supported marriage equality before it was legalized

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Cheney, gay news, Washington Blade
Dick Cheney died at age 84. (Public domain photo)

Former Vice President Dick Cheney died of complications from pneumonia and cardio and vascular disease, according to a family statement released Tuesday morning. He was 84. 

Cheney served as vice president under President George W. Bush for eight years and previously as defense secretary under President George H.W. Bush. He also served as a House member from Wyoming and as White House chief of staff for President Gerald Ford. 

“Dick Cheney was a great and good man who taught his children and grandchildren to love our country, and to live lives of courage, honor, love, kindness, and fly fishing,” his family said in a statement. “We are grateful beyond measure for all Dick Cheney did for our country. And we are blessed beyond measure to have loved and been loved by this noble giant of a man.”

Cheney had a complicated history on LGBTQ issues; he and wife Lynne had two daughters, Liz Cheney and Mary Cheney, who’s a lesbian. Mary Cheney was criticized by LGBTQ advocates for not joining the fight against President George W. Bush’s push for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. She later resumed support for LGBTQ issues in 2009, including same-sex marriage, after her father left office in 2009. She married her partner since 1992, Heather Poe, in 2012.

In 2010, after leaving office, Cheney predicted “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” would “be changed” and expressed support for reconsideration of the law banning open military service.

In 2013, the Cheney family’s disagreements over marriage equality spilled into the public eye after Liz Cheney announced her opposition to same-sex couples legally marrying. Mary Cheney took to Facebook to rebuke her sister: “Liz – this isn’t just an issue on which we disagree – you’re just wrong – and on the wrong side of history.” Dick and Lynne Cheney were supporters of marriage equality by 2013. Liz Cheney eventually came around years later.

Cheney, a neo-con, was often criticized for his handling of the Iraq war. He was considered one of the most powerful and domineering vice presidents of the modern era. He disappeared from public life for years but re-emerged to help Liz Cheney in her House re-election bid after she clashed with President Trump. Dick Cheney assailed Trump in a campaign video and later Liz announced that her father would vote for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.

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New Hampshire

John E. Sununu to run for NH Senate seat

Gay Congressman Chris Pappas among other candidates

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Former U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu (R-N.H.) (Screen capture via WMUR-TV/YouTube)

Former U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu on Wednesday announced he is running for retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.)’s seat in 2026.

“Washington, as anyone who observes can see, is a little dysfunctional right now,” Sununu told WMUR in an interview the New Hampshire television station aired on Wednesday. “There’s yelling, there’s inactivity. We’ve got a government shutdown. Friends, family, they always say, ‘Why would anyone want to work there?’ And the short answer is it’s important to New Hampshire. It’s important that we have someone who knows how to get things done.”

Sununu, 61, was in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1997-2003 and in the U.S. Senate from 2003-2009. Shaheen in 2008 defeated Sununu when he ran for re-election.

Sununu’s father is John Sununu, who was former President George H.W. Bush’s chief of staff. Sununu’s brother is former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu.

John E. Sununu will square off against former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown in the Republican primary. Gay U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) is among the Democrats running for Shaheen’s seat.

“As a small business owner and public servant, I’m in this fight to put people first and do what’s right for New Hampshire,” said Pappas on Wednesday on X. “I’m working to lower costs and build a fair economy. Washington should work for you — not corporate interests.”

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