Transgender Candidates
In 2015, I conducted a project (coauthored with Andrew Reynolds) to examine the success rates of transgender and gender-diverse candidates for office around the world. We developed an original dataset of nearly 130 unique candidates (as of November 2015) over nearly 40 years representing at least 30 countries. I presented this research to the British Parliament, London School of Economics, and the 2015 International LGBT Leaders Conference.
I continue to track transgender candidates in the United States,
often with the help of people around the country who take the time to contact me. Thank you!
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Notes for Journalists Covering Transgender Issues:
Please see the Trans Journalists Association's
style guide for covering transgender people and issues.

List of Transgender Candidates in the U.S.
2022
2022 Candidacies: At least 50
2021: 22 | 2020: 50 | 2019: 23 | 2018: 54 | 2017: 25
2022 Victories: At least 20 (1 race still undecided)
2021: 10 | 2020: 16| 2019: 15 | 2018: 10 | 2017: 10
Last updated Thursday, Jan 5, 2023
4:30 pm Central
2022
NP=non-partisan
green = victory
*=won primary
U.S. House (0/2)
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*Maebe A. Girl (D), also identifies as nonbinary - California 30 (1 of 2 primary winners in June) (lost in Nov)
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Paula Overby (LMN) - Minnesota 2 (lost in Nov)
Lieutenant Governor (0/1)
Other Statewide Offices (0/1)
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Veronika Fimbres (Green) - Insurance Commissioner, California (lost primary in June)
State Senate (1/4)
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Rev. Donnie Anderson (D) - Rhode Island 1 (lost primary in Sept)
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*Rianna Czech (D) - Pennsylvania 50 (unopposed in primary) (lost in Nov)
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*Jessica Katzenmeyer (D) - Wisconsin 5 (lost in Nov)
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Sarah McBride (D) [Incumbent] - Delaware 1 (no primary) (won re-election in Nov)
State House (7/18)
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*Jaelynn Abegg (D) - Kansas 105 (unopposed in primary) (lost in Nov)
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Deja Alvarez (D) - Pennsylvania 182 (lost primary in May)
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*Gerri Cannon (D) [Incumbent] - New Hampshire Strafford 12 (1 of 3 winners in Nov)
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*Brenda Churchill (D) - Vermont Franklin 6 (unopposed in primary) (lost in Nov)
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*Leigh Finke (D) - Minnesota 66A (won in Nov)
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*SJ Howell, also identifies as nonbinary (D) - Montana 95 (won in Nov)
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Damián Lima (D) - Rhode Island 6 (lost primary in Sept)
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Stephanie Marty (D) - South Dakota 11 (lost primary in June)
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Wendy Ella May (D) - North Carolina 28 (no primary) (lost in Nov)
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Giona Picheco (D) - Rhode Island 14 (lost primary in Sept)
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*James Roesener (D) - New Hampshire Merrimack 22 (unopposed in primary) (won in Nov)
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*Judson Scanlon (D) - Arkansas 70 (unopposed in primary) (lost in Nov)
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*Taylor Small (D) [Incumbent] - Vermont Chittenden-21 (won re-election in Nov)
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*Brianna Titone (D) [Incumbent] - Colorado 27 (won re-election in Nov)
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Brianna Westbrook (D) - Arizona 5 (lost primary in Aug)
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*Elle Wyant (D) - Iowa 91 (unopposed in primary) (lost in Nov)
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*Zooey Zephyr (D) - Montana 100 (won in Nov)
County Commission/Board (2/4)
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*V Fixmer-Oraiz (D), also identifies as nonbinary - Johnson County, IA (1 of 2 primary winners in June) (1 of 2 winners in Nov)
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Amelia May Johnson (I) - Clark County, AR, County Quorum Court Justice of the Peace, District 8 (no primary) (lost in Nov)
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Leiyomi Preciado (D) - Kitsap County, WA, District 3 (lost primary in Aug)
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*Evelyn Rios Stafford (D) [Incumbent] - Washington County, AR, County Quorum Court Justice of the Peace, District 12 (unopposed in primary) (won re-election in Nov)
City Council (3/8, with one race still undecided)
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Billie Cooper - San Francisco, CA (District 6) (lost in Nov)
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Jackie Goldman (D) - Providence, RI (Ward 5) (lost primary in Sept)
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Honey Mahogany - San Francisco, CA (District 6) (lost in Nov)
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*Vered Meltzer [Incumbent] - Appleton, WI (District 2) (won in April)
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*Allison Scott - Asheville, NC (pictured above) (lost in Nov)
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Davin Sokup (D) - Northfield, MN (won in Nov)
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Stephanie Wade (D) - Seal Beach, CA (District 3) (race has moved to a runoff in January 2023)
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Jennifer Williams (R) - Trenton, NJ (North Ward) (won in Nov)
School Board (3/5)
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Cassandra May Albaugh - Cotati Rohnert Park, CA (Area 2) (ran unopposed and so was appointed in lieu of an election)
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Rebecca Blankenship - Berea, KY (won as write-in candidate in Nov)
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Shepherd Janeway - Madison, WI (lost in April)
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Stephan Kingsley - Tempe, AZ (lost in Nov)
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Nick Resnick - Oakland, CA (District 4) (won in Nov)
Other Local Offices (5/7)
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Precious Brady-Davis (D) - Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commission, Chicago, IL (lost primary in June)
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TS Candii (D) (on ballot as Kiyziah Vaughn) - County Committee (037/58 Democratic), New York City, NY (1 of 4 winners in June)
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Hayden Gise (D) - Advisory Neighborhood Commission, 3C01, Washington D.C. (won in Nov)
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Jillian Hanlon (D) - Sheriff, Dutchess County, NY (lost in Nov)
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Kyra Schwartz (D) - Ward Executive Committee (38-15), Philadelphia, PA (1 of 2 winners in May)
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Melissa Sklarz (D) [Incumbent] - District Leader (30-B, Queens), New York City, NY (won in June)
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Adam Spickler [Incumbent] - Cabrillo Community College Board of Trustees (Area 2), Santa Cruz, CA (won re-election in Nov)
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2022 Notes
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Stephanie Byers (D), currently a state representative in Kansas, is not running for reelection, due to a family move out of state. Read more here.
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Janelle Crossley (D) announced she would run for Pennsylvania House (District 199) in 2022, but was not listed on the May primary ballot.
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Lucy Lauser (D) announced in 2021 she would run for the U.S. House in the state of Washington (District 3), but withdrew in November 2021.
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Rachael Rose Luckey announced she would run for City Council in Los Angeles, CA (District 13), but she did not appear on the June primary or November general ballots.
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Kendall Martinez-Wright announced she would run for the Missouri House (District 5) in 2022, but in Sept 2021 withdrew.
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Lisa Middleton (D) announced she would run for the California Senate (District 28) in 2022, but in Dec 2021 the state's redistricting commission changed the district's election cycle to 2024. Read more here.
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Allison Chris Myers was appointed, not elected, to the New Jersey Civil Service Commission in Dec 2022.
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Monika Nemeth (D) announced she would run for Washington D.C. Council (Ward 3), but in March 2022 withdrew.
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Brooklyn Owen (D) announced she would run for the Florida Senate (District 6) but has not filed appropriate paperwork and does not appear to be on the ballot for the August primary.
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Paula Overby (LMN) sadly died in October, prior to the November election in Minnesota for the 2nd Congressional district.
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Melissa Sue Robinson (D) announced she would run for the Governor of Idaho, but withdrew before the primary.
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Brianna Westbrook (D) briefly ran for Arizona House in District 24, but then changed to run for District 5 after redistricting.
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Osun Zotique (D), who also identifies as nonbinary, briefly ran for the U.S. House in New York (District 19), but withdrew prior to the primary. Zotique also briefly ran as a write-in candidate in the Hudson Board of Education election in May 2022, and lost.
2023 Notes
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Danica Roem (D), a current Virginia state legislator, announced she will run for the Virginia State Senate (District 30) in 2023.
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Click here for a list of candidates who ran in 2021.
Click here for a list of candidates who ran in 2020.
Click here for a list of candidates who ran in 2019.

This is the policy report format of this research project, published in October 2015 by the LGBTQ Representation and Rights Research Initiative. The data regarding candidates (at the time of publication) is included in the report's appendix. If you know of someone we missed, please email me!

Related Press Coverage
2022
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"These recently elected trans lawmakers say anti-LGBTQ bills inspired them to run." NBC. Julie Moreau, Nov 30.
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"Rhode Island could elect its first transgender state legislator this year." Boston Globe. Edward Fitzpatrick, August 10.
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"Montana poised to elect first openly trans lawmakers." Montana Free Press. Mara Silvers. June 9.
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"‘We’re not going back to zero’ Transgender politicians are challenging the status quo." USC Annenberg Media. Mia Ross. May 19.
2021
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"'More Gary Coleman than Arnold Schwarzenegger': Caitlyn Jenner's historic run struggles." Los Angeles Times. Julia Wick. July 16.
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"Lesbian, bisexual women more successful at the ballot box than gay men, study shows." NBC News. Julie Moreau. July 8.
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"'Historic' candidacy in Mobile: How Tex Copeland is bringing 'visibility' to the LGBTQ+ community." AL.com. John Sharp. June 21.
2020
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"Trans and nonbinary candidates set record wins in red and blue states." NPR. Piper McDaniel and David Garcia. Nov 9.
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"Transgender representation to nearly double in state legislatures." NBC News. Sydney Bauer. Nov 6.
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"The number of transgender lawmakers doubled this year. Here's a look at races that made history." San Francisco Chronicle. Annie Vainshtein. Nov 5.
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"Kansas makes history, elects retired Wichita teacher as its first transgender legislator." The Wichita Eagle. Denise Neil and Jaime Green. Nov 3.
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"'Blazing the pathway': Retired teacher could become Kansas' first transgender lawmaker." NBC News. Julie Compton. Oct 17.
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"West Virginia, Louisiana elect first openly transgender women to political positions." The Hill. Anagha Srikanth. July 13.
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"In the wake of Hallquist's historic run, 3 transgender women run for House seats." VTDigger. Kit Norton. Jun 2.
2019
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"Transgender candidates won big in elections last night." Out Magazine. Matt Baume. Nov 6.
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"Rainbow Wave 2.0: Nearly 100 LGBTQ candidates claim victory in Tuesday's elections." NBC News. Tim Fitzsimmons. Nov 6.
2018
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"Over 150 LGBTQ candidates claim victory in midterm elections." NBC News. Julie Moreau. Nov 7.
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"Our Political Party System May Be Binary But Our Candidate's Gender Need Not Be." Daily Grab Back. Oct 23.
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"‘I’m Not Running Because I’m Trans’: Meet the Men Fighting to Build Power One State Legislature Seat at a Time." Rewire.News. s.e. smith. Oct 5.
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"Transgender candidates could make history in upcoming races." Reuters. Daniel Trotta. Aug 10.
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"For Trans Candidates, Even Losing is Winning." The Advocate. Jacob Anderson-Minshall. July 26.
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"Where Are the Trans Men in Politics?" HuffPost. Natalie Vikhrov. June 2.
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"For LGBTQ community, 2017 was a mixed bag." NBC News. Brooke Sopelsa and John Paul Brammer. Jan 2.
2017
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"LGBTQ Political Candidates Score Historic Victories Across U.S." NBC News. Julie Moreau. Nov 8.
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"Wins for trans candidates seen as nationwide clarion call." Washington Blade. Chris Johnson. Nov 8.
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"Out for votes: Battle over rights inspires more U.S. transgender candidates." Reuters. Letitia Stein. Oct 31.
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"The Second Coming Out: Trans Candidates and the Quest for Public Service." Esquire Magazine. Nico Lang. Oct 25.
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"For some transgender Texans, bathroom bill fight spurs bids for office." Texas Tribune. Emma Platoff. Sept 20.
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"How Dan Patrick's bathroom bill galvanized transgender Texans." Dallas Morning News. Lauren McGaughy. Aug 20.
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"Transgender Candidate Danica Roem Wins Virginia Primary, Makes History." NBC News. Julie Moreau. June 14.
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"Will 2017 Be the 'Year of the Trans Candidate'?" NBC News. Julie Moreau. June 12.
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"Trump bump? More transgender candidates seek public office." NBC News. Julie Moreau. April.
2016
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Podcast: Dialogues on Democracy. International Foundation for Electoral Systems. June.
2015
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"This map shows the 31 countries where transgender and gender-variant candidates have run for office since 1977." The Washington Post, The Monkey Cage. December.
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"UNC LGBTQ Representation and Rights Initiative Publishes First Report on Transgender Officials." UNC Global. December.
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"Electing transgender officials: A new frontier in politics." The Washington Blade. November.