News
HRC hits campaign trail for Democrats
‘We are at a critical juncture in our fight for full equality’
Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin is set to hit the campaign trail for Democratic U.S. Senate candidates. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
With only a few days remaining before Election Day, the Human Rights Campaign is set to hit the campaign trail in a few competitive races on behalf of Democrats.
Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, plans to make personal appearances in four states for the campaigns of Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate at a time when the party is struggling to maintain control of the chamber.
“We are at a critical juncture in our fight for full equality,” Griffin said in a statement Tuesday. “The outcome of this election will impact whether or not we move forward or backward with fair-minded policies and legislation, and that’s why mobilizing LGBT voters and allies to get out and vote for equality-minded candidates is a key priority.”
Griffin has repeatedly refused Blade interview requests since he took over as HRC president.
The four states to which Griffin will travel are Oregon, Colorado, Georgia and New Hampshire. He’s set to take part in a phone bank on Tuesday for Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), on Wednesday for Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.), on Thursday for U.S. Senate candidate Michelle Nunn and on Saturday for Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.).
Merkley is relatively safe in his prospects for re-election, but the remaining three candidates are in more competitive races. Still, Udall has been consistently behind in the polls as he faces a re-election challenge from Republican candidate Cory Gardner.
In addition to traveling to four states, Griffin is set to take part in a telephone town hall for U.S. Senate candidate in Iowa Bruce Braley, who’s in a competitive race with Republican candidate Joni Ernst.
The Human Rights Campaign also on Tuesday unveiled new online ads promoting the candidacies of Udall and Merkley based on their LGBT work, which includes support for marriage equality, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal.
HRC points to polling conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research in 2012 that found support for LGBT rights helped candidates with voters.
Other efforts initiated by HRC to support these candidates include sending election-related action alerts to HRC members, deploying 24 staff members to work in campaigns and co-ordinating volunteer phone banks at HRC headquarters.
HRC bills itself as a non-partisan LGBT organization, but all of the candidates it supports in this effort are Democrats. One Republican candidate endorsed by HRC, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), isn’t among those that will receive help as part of this latest push by Griffin.
Gregory Angelo, executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans, said he’s not surprised Griffin would back Democratic candidates for office, but declined to criticize him.
“My interactions with Chad Griffin have always shown him to be an advocate who understands the importance of Republicans in the fight for equality, but he also makes no bones about being a liberal Democrat,” Angelo said. “It’s election season, so I can’t say I’m fazed or surprised.”
But Angelo said Log Cabin is also helping to make a push in the days before Election Day. Staff will be deployed to Massachusetts’ 6th congressional district, where gay Republican U.S. House candidate Richard Tisei is seeking office, and California’s 52nd congressional district, where Carl DeMaio, who’s gay, is running.
Angelo said he’s making the trek himself to California to assist the campaign of DeMaio, who’s running against pro-LGBT incumbent Rep. Scott Peters (R-Calif.)
Not to be outdone, anti-gay groups also undertaking efforts to ensure opponents of LGBT rights win at the polls. Brian Brown, president of the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage, said in a statement Tuesday TV ads have been purchased and are set to air this week in North Carolina and Arkansas.
In North Carolina, Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), a supporter of marriage equality, is fending off a challenge from Republican Thom Tillis, who is seeking to overturn a court decision in favor of same-sex marriage in his state. In Arkansas, Republican Tom Cotton is running ahead of incumbent Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), although neither supports marriage equality.
“The National Organization for Marriage Victory Fund will spend $200,000 this week in just the North Carolina and Arkansas Senate contests,” Brown said. “Today we’re announcing the launch of a powerful new television ad that puts marriage front and center in the race, contrasting the leadership of Thom Tillis in getting the North Carolina marriage amendment on the ballot with Kay Hagan’s opposition to it. Moreover, Hagan was the person who hand-picked the federal judge who invalidated the North Carolina marriage amendment without so much as giving voters a day in court.”
The ad in North Carolina, “Kay Hagan’s Judge,” criticizes Hagan for recommending the appointment to the bench of U.S. District Judge Max Cogburn, who was responsible for overturning the state’s ban on same-sex marriage.
Additionally, NOM says automated phone calls have been made in California, Massachusetts and Oregon. In each of the states, Republican hopefuls — U.S. Senate candidate Monica Wehby, gay U.S. House candidate Richard Tisei and DeMaio — are considered supporters of marriage equality, but anti-gay groups have pledged to block their candidacy.
The organization says mailers have been sent out in North Carolina and are being sent out in California.
The leader of another pro-LGBT group, Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund CEO Chuck Wolfe, is set to travel to Maine to assist with the campaign of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mike Michaud.
Michaud is in a tight race with incumbent Republican Gov. Paul LePage, but could could be the first openly gay person elected to the office of governor.
Denis Dison, spokesperson for the Victory Fund, said Wolfe plans to be in Maine on Election Day.
“He typically participates in get-out-the-vote efforts on Election Day, places calls to thank donors, attends (hopefully!) victory celebrations and speaks to media about the results and the impact of a victory,” Dison said.
Congress
McBride, other US lawmakers travel to Denmark
Trump’s demand for Greenland’s annexation overshadowed trip
Delaware Congresswoman Sarah McBride is among the 11 members of Congress who traveled to Denmark over the past weekend amid President Donald Trump’s continued calls for the U.S. to take control of Greenland.
McBride, the first openly transgender person elected to Congress, traveled to Copenhagen, the Danish capital, with U.S. Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and U.S. Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), Don Bacon (R-Neb.), and Sarah Jacobs (D-Calif.). The lawmakers met with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic MP Pipaluk Lynge, among others.
“I’m grateful to Sen. Coons for his leadership in bringing together a bipartisan, bicameral delegation to reaffirm our support in Congress for our NATO ally, Denmark,” said McBride in a press release that detailed the trip. “Delaware understands that our security and prosperity depend on strong partnerships rooted in mutual respect, sovereignty, and self-determination. At a time of growing global instability, this trip could not be more poignant.”
Greenland is a self-governing territory of Denmark with a population of less than 60,000 people. Trump maintains the U.S. needs to control the mineral-rich island in the Arctic Ocean between Europe and North America because of national security.
The Associated Press notes thousands of people on Saturday in Nuuk, the Greenlandic capital, protested against Trump. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is among those who have criticized Trump over his suggestion the U.S. would impose tariffs against countries that do not support U.S. annexation of Greenland.
A poll that Sermitsiaq, a Greenlandic newspaper, and Berlingske, a Danish newspaper, commissioned last January indicates 85 percent do not want Greenland to become part of the U.S. The pro-independence Demokraatit party won parliamentary elections that took place on March 12, 2025.
“At this critical juncture for our countries, our message was clear as members of Congress: we value the U.S.-Denmark partnership, the NATO alliance, and the right of Greenlanders to self-determination,” said McBride on Sunday in a Facebook post that contained pictures of her and her fellow lawmakers meeting with their Danish and Greenlandic counterparts.
Virginia
Two gay candidates running in ‘firehouse’ Va. House of Delegates primary in Alexandria
Kirk McPike, Gregory Darrall hope to succeed delegate vying for Ebbin’s seat
Gay Alexandria City Council member Kirk McPike and gay public school teacher Gregory Darrall, who serves as vice president of the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers, are among four candidates running in a Jan. 20 “firehouse” Democratic primary for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates.
With less than a week’s notice, Democratic Party officials in Alexandria called the primary to select a Democratic nominee to run in a Feb. 10 special election to fill the 5th House District seat being vacated by state Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-Alexandria).
Bennett-Parker won the Democratic nomination for the Virginia Senate seat being vacated by gay state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria), who is resigning from the seat to take a position in the administration of Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, who took office on Jan. 17.
Bennett-Parker won the nomination for the state Senate seat in yet another firehouse primary on Jan. 13 in which she defeated three other candidates, including gay former state Del. Mark Levine.
The Jan. 20 primary in which McPike and Darrall are competing will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. in two polling places in Alexandria: the Charles E. Beatley Jr. Central Library at 5005 Duke St. and the Charles Houston Recreation Center at 901 Wythe St.
The other two candidates running are former Alexandria City School Board member Eileen Cassidy Rivera and criminal law defense attorney Chris Leibig.
McPike, who first won election to the Alexandria City Council in 2021, served for 13 years as chief of staff for gay U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) prior to winning election to the Alexandria City Council.
“Now, Kirk is ready to bring his experience to Richmond to keep improving the lives of all Virginians as our delegate for House District 5,” his campaign website says. His website writeup says he and his husband, Cantor Jason Kaufman, have lived in Alexandria’s Seminary Hill neighborhood for 15 years.
“As delegate, we can count on Kirk to keep delivering for us — helping Virginia maintain our commitments to our schools, our first responders, and our efforts to address climate change, housing affordability, and infrastructure,” the website statement says.
McPike, a longtime LGBTQ rights supporter and advocate, has been endorsed by Ebbin and U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.). Beyer said in a statement that McPike “has a proven track record of delivering results for Alexandrians.” The LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, which raises money for LGBTQ candidates running for public office, has also endorsed McPike.
Darrall’s campaign website says he is a “proud progressive, lifelong educator, and labor leader running to put people first.” It says he is a political newcomer “with more than 20 years in the classroom” as a teacher who played a key role in the successful unionization of Fairfax Public Schools.
“He is a proud member and staunch supporter of the LGBTQIA+ community,” his website statement says. It says he met his husband Jose while living in Miami and the two operated a small business in South Florida for a decade before moving to Alexandria in 2015. It adds that Darrall is “fluent in Spanish, loves walking Alexandria’s neighborhoods, and is driven by a deep belief in fairness, equality, and strengthening our democracy from the ground up.”
The Alexandria Republican City Committee nominated local business executive Mason Butler as the Republican nominee for the House of Delegates seat in the Feb. 10 special election after he emerged as the only GOP candidate running for the seat, according to the Alexandria Brief publication. He will face the Democratic winner in the Jan. 20 firehouse primary.
The Washington Blade is seeking to determine GOP candidate Butler’s and Democratic candidates Leibig’s and Rivera’s positions on LGBTQ-related issues and will update this story if their positions on those issues can be determined.
Abigail Spanberger was sworn in as the 75th governor of Virginia at a ceremony on the grounds of the Virginia State Capitol on Saturday. Thousands of spectators watched the swearing-in ceremony and parade, despite the rain and temperatures in the low 40s.
Spanberger, a member of the Democratic Party and an LGBTQ ally, became the first woman to be Virginia’s governor.
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Newly-elected Attorney General Jay Jones, Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi, and Spanberger were each administered the oath of office in the public ceremony.
Republican former Gov. Glenn Youngkin left the ceremony shortly after the oath of office was administered to Spanberger and before the inaugural address.
In her speech, the new governor made an appeal to bipartisanship and looking past division in our current moment.
“To my friends in the General Assembly — on both sides of the aisle — I look forward to working with you,” said Spanberger. “I know what it means to represent your constituents, to work hard for your district, and to pursue policies you believe in. We will not agree on everything, but I speak from personal experience when I say that we do not have to see eye-to-eye on every issue in order to stand shoulder-to-shoulder on others.”
Spanberger acknowledged Virginians’ frustrations with federal layoffs and governmental policy.
“I know many of you are worried about the recklessness coming out of Washington. You are worried about policies that are hurting our communities — cutting healthcare access, imperiling rural hospitals, and driving up costs,” said Spanberger. “You are worried about Washington policies that are closing off markets, hurting innovation and private industry, and attacking those who have devoted their lives to public service.”
Spanberger alluded to the Trump administration, though never mentioned President Donald Trump’s name in her remarks.
Spanberger said, “you are worried about an administration that is gilding buildings while schools crumble, breaking the social safety net, and sowing fear across our communities, betraying the values of who we are as Americans, the very values we celebrate here on these steps.”
The new governor then spoke of her priorities in office, pledging to tackle housing affordability by working to “cut red tape” and increase housing supply. Spanberger also spoke of forestalling an impending healthcare crisis by protecting access and cracking down on “middlemen who are driving up drug prices.”
Spanberger spoke of investments in education at every level, standing up for workers (including the large number of federal workers in Virginia), and taking action on gun violence.
Virginia married couple Mary Townley and Carol Schall witnessed the inauguration ceremony from the stands set up on the grounds of the Capitol. Schall and Townley are one of the plaintiff couples in the case that challenged the Virginia constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
Same-sex marriage became legal in Virginia in 2014.
“We are delighted with the inauguration of Abigail Spanberger as governor of Virginia,” Schall told the Washington Blade. “The celebration of her inauguration was full of the beautiful diversity that is Virginia. The Virginia Pride contingent was included as a part of what makes Virginia a great place to live.”
“Such an honor to attend such a wonderful event in Virginia history,” Townley told the Blade. “The weather before the Inauguration was cold and rainy, but I believe it represented the end of a dreary time and it ushered in the dry and sunny weather by the end of the inaugural parade. Madam Governor brought us to the light!”
The inaugural parade following the governor’s remarks included a contingent from Diversity Richmond and Virginia Pride. Marchers in the LGBTQ contingent carried a giant Progress Pride flag and were met with loud cheers from the gathered spectators.
Spanberger after her inauguration signed 10 executive orders. One of them bans discrimination against state employees based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and other factors.
“By virtue of the authority vested in me as Governor under Article V of the Constitution of
Virginia, I hereby declare that it is the firm and unwavering policy of the Commonwealth of Virginia to ensure equal opportunity in all facets of state government,” reads the executive order. “The foundational tenet of this executive order is premised upon a steadfast commitment to foster a culture of inclusion, diversity, and mutual respect for all Virginians.”
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