Virginia
EXCLUSIVE: HRC PAC to endorse Spanberger for Va. governor
Former congresswoman to face off against state’s GOP lieutenant governor
The Human Rights Campaign PAC on Tuesday will endorse Democratic nominee Abigail Spanberger’s run for governor of Virginia, the organization told the Washington Blade.
The former CIA agent-turned-congresswoman, who represented her state’s 7th Congressional District from 2019 to 2025, will face off against Republican Lieutenant Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears in this year’s gubernatorial race.
A Roanoke College survey in February found Spanberger in the lead with a comfortable margin, 39-24, while a trio of polls in January found her ahead by one, five, and 10 percentage points.
Virginia’s incumbent Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who is prohibited from seeking a second term under the state’s constitution, has consistently restricted LGBTQ rights and attacked the transgender community since taking office in 2022.
HRC said Spanberger’s candidacy “offers Virginians renewed hope for a future rooted in equality,” with the group’s president, Kelley Robinson, calling her “a champion for the LGBTQ community.”
Noting the former congresswoman’s co-sponsorship of the Equality Act, legislation that would expand federal anti-discrimination protections to include LGBTQ people, Robinson said Spanberger “understands that Virginia’s future success depends on the full inclusion and protection of all its people.”
HRC’s president added, “As governor, she will work tirelessly to build a Virginia where everyone — regardless of who they are or who they love — can live, work, and go to school with dignity, safety, and opportunity. We are thrilled to support her and mobilize pro-equality Virginians to make her the commonwealth’s next governor.”
Responding to news of the endorsement, Spanberger said “I’m honored to earn the endorsement of the Human Rights Campaign, and I’m ready to work together to build on the progress we’ve made to secure equal protections for all Virginians under the law.”
“Affirming that Virginia is a welcoming home for all families goes beyond protecting marriage equality — it means defending Virginians’ right to live without fear of discrimination or harm,” she said. “As governor, I will work to make sure that no Virginian is denied government services, loses a job, or faces any other form of discrimination because of who they love or who they are.”
HRC further noted that Spanberger fought to pass the Respect for Marriage Act, which was signed into law in 2022 and codified legal protections for married same-sex and interracial couples, as well as her promise to “defend marriage equality and work with the General Assembly to enshrine marriage equality in Virginia’s constitution.”
Spanberger has also committed to “signing legislation guaranteeing Virginians’ right to access contraception and birth control,” HRC wrote, “and protecting against attempts by extreme judges and politicians to roll back Virginians’ reproductive freedoms.”
By contrast, the organization criticized Sears’s LGBTQ rights record — noting that in 2004, she pledged to “emphatically support a constitutional amendment” banning same-sex marriage, in 2021, she campaigned with a gubernatorial candidate who said homosexuality was the “work of the devil,” and in 2022, she “dodged questions” about her position on marriage equality and “attempted to rewrite her hateful history.”
Since 1977, with only one exception, Virginia has elected governors who belong to the party that is out of power at the presidential level. The state’s upcoming off-year gubernatorial contest presents an opportunity for Democrats who are eager for a major electoral victory to channel momentum against President Donald Trump and Republican majorities in Congress.
Virginia
Ghazala Hashmi names Equality Virginia executive director to transition team
Narissa Rahaman will join Adam Ebbin, Mark Sickles on LG-elect’s committee.
Virginia Lt. Gov.-elect Ghazala Hashmi has named Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman to her transition team.
State Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) and state Del. Mark Sickles (D-Fairfax County) are among those who Hashmi also named to her Transition Committee.
“I am honored to have this diverse group of leaders join our transition,” said Hashmi in a statement. “Their experience, perspective, and commitment to public service will help build an Office of the Lieutenant Governor that is responsive, innovative, and relentlessly focused on improving the lives of every Virginia resident.”
“Together, we will develop a thoughtful roadmap for the work ahead — one that ensures we are engaging communities, strengthening partnerships across the state, and preparing this office to serve with purpose and conviction from Day One,” she added. “I am grateful to each member for bringing time, expertise, and passion to this effort.”
Hashmi, a Democrat, defeated Republican John Reid, who is openly gay, on Nov. 4.
Hashmi will succeed outgoing Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears on Jan. 17.
Democrats on Tuesday increased their majority in the Virginia House of Delegates.
The Associated Press notes the party now has 61 seats in the chamber. Democrats before Election Day had a 51-48 majority in the House.
All six openly gay, lesbian, and bisexual candidates — state Dels. Rozia Henson (D-Prince William County), Laura Jane Cohen (D-Fairfax County), Joshua Cole (D-Fredericksburg), Marcia Price (D-Newport News), Adele McClure (D-Arlington County), and Mark Sickles (D-Fairfax County) — won re-election.
Lindsey Dougherty, a bisexual Democrat, defeated state Del. Carrie Coyner (R-Chesterfield County) in House District 75 that includes portions of Chesterfield and Prince George Counties. (Attorney General-elect Jay Jones in 2022 texted Coyner about a scenario in which he shot former House Speaker Todd Gilbert, a Republican.)
Other notable election results include Democrat John McAuliff defeating state Del. Geary Higgins (R-Loudoun County) in House District 30. Former state Del. Elizabeth Guzmán beat state Del. Ian Lovejoy (R-Prince William County) in House District 22.
Democrats increased their majority in the House on the same night they won all three statewide offices: governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general.
Narissa Rahaman is the executive director of Equality Virginia Advocates, the advocacy branch of Equality Virginia, a statewide LGBTQ advocacy group, last week noted the election results will determine the future of LGBTQ rights, reproductive freedom, and voting rights in the state.
Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin in 2024 signed a bill that codified marriage equality in state law.
The General Assembly earlier this year approved a resolution that seeks to repeal the Marshall-Newman Amendment that defines marriage in the state constitution as between a man and a woman. The resolution must pass in two successive legislatures before it can go to the ballot.
Shreya Jyotishi contributed to this article.
Virginia
Gay Republican loses race for Virginia lieutenant governor
John Reid became first out nominee for statewide office in Va.
John Reid, a gay conservative former radio talk show host in Richmond for many years, lost his race as the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor in Virginia on Tuesday, falling short of becoming the state’s first openly gay person to win a statewide office.
According to the Virginia Board of Elections, with votes counted in 129 of the state’s 133 localities, Democrat Ghazala F. Hashmi, a member of the Virginia State Senate, captured 55.45 percent of the vote, with 1,822,889 votes compared to Reid, who received 44.30 percent with 1,456,335 votes.
The election board results at 11:30 p.m. on election night also showed there were 8,391 write-in votes cast in the lieutenant governor’s race at 0.26 percent.
While Reid fell short of becoming Virginia’s first out LGBTQ statewide office holder, Hashmi broke another barrier by becoming both the state and the nation’s first Muslim woman elected to a statewide office.
The Progressive Voters Guide has reported that Hashmi supports LGBTQ rights as part of a broader progressive agenda that includes public education, reproductive rights, and environmental justice.
Gay longtime Virginia State Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) endorsed Hashmi’s candidacy and told the Washington Blade he recently took her on a campaign tour of the Del Ray section of Alexandria.
In an interview with the Blade in April, Reid responded to a question of what message he had for LGBTQ voters in Virginia.
“Well, the thing I would say to gay voters who are looking and examining the candidates, is that I was out of the closet as a gay Republican publicly in very difficult rooms where people weren’t accepting of gay men – long before Donald Trump said I don’t care about this stuff,” he said.
“So even though I’m a Republican I know some people in the LGBT community are reflexively hostile to Republicans,” he told the Blade, “I took that step in public, and I think I helped change a lot of minds within the Republican Party and within central Virginia, which continues to be pretty conservative place, by being true to who I am.”
Chilean presidential election outcome to determine future of LGBTQ rights in country
EXCLUSIVE: Garcia, Markey reintroduce bill to require US promotes LGBTQ rights abroad
Could lower rates, lagging condo sales lure buyers to the table?
Gay, straight men bond over finances, single fatherhood in Mosaic show
High cost of living shuts essential workers out, threatens D.C.’s economic stability
Pro-trans candidates triumph despite millions in transphobic ads
Democratic Socialism won’t win the whole country
US bishops ban gender-affirming care at Catholic hospitals
Federal government reopens
