Record number of LGBTQ candidates seeking office in Texas

At least 35 openly LGBTQ people intend to run for public office in Texas in 2018, roughly doubling the previous record for an election cycle in the state, Houston-based OutSmart Magazine reported Tuesday. 

Of the nearly three dozen candidates, two are running for governor, 13 are running for state and local judicial seats, 10 are campaigning for the state legislature and seven are running for Congress.

All but four are running as Democrats, the magazine reported. Others who are running for office indicated they did not want to be publicly identified as LGBTQ.

{mosads}The report comes as more members of minority communities have expressed interest in running for office.

EMILY’s List, a group that works to elect women who support abortion rights, said last month it has heard from more than 25,000 women who are interested in running for office.

Virginia House of Delegates candidate Danica Roem (D) made history in November, winning her election and becoming the state’s first openly transgender elected official. Advocates also cited her victory as the first time an openly transgender person was elected and seated in a state legislature. 

President Trump vowed during his campaign to “do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology,” citing a June 2016 attack at a gay nightclub that killed 49 people.

However, members of the LGBTQ community have expressed concerns over the Trump administration’s policies, including the push to ban transgender people from serving in the military and the omission of the LGBTQ community from a World AIDS Day proclamation.