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Rainbow wave

The "rainbow wave" was a phrase coined in 2018[1] to describe the unparalleled number of openly LGBTQ+ candidates running for political office in the United States that year.[2][3] The rainbow wave began during the 2018 U.S. midterm elections when over 400 LGBTQ+ candidates ran for office and a record-breaking 244 were elected.[1][4]

The following year, in the 2019 elections, 382 openly LGBTQ+ candidates ran for public office and 200 made it on the ballot,[5] of which 170 won.[6] In the 2020 elections, over 1,000 LGBTQ+ people ran for office and 734 LGBTQ+ candidates secured a spot on the ballot. Of these candidates, 334 won.[7][8] The 2021 elections had the largest number of LGBTQ+ candidates in any U.S. off-year election; there were 430 LGBTQ+ candidates, of which 184 were elected.[9]

The 2022 elections represented the biggest rainbow wave in U.S. history, as 1,065 LGBTQ+ candidates ran for office and 436 were elected.[10][11] The 2022 U.S. elections were also the first time that LGBTQ+ candidates appeared on the ballot across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.[12]

Lesbian and gay issues have been specially considered in United States elections since 1974, when the first two openly gay politicians were elected, Kathy Kozachenko and Elaine Noble,[13][14] and the first anti-homosexual measure appeared on the ballot in Colorado.[15] During the 1970s through to the 2010s, LGBTQ+ political considerations and advances shifted and expanded. In the late 1990s through the 2000s, there was a focus on gay marriage. The 2015 Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges solidified the constitutional right to same-sex marriage. Starting from the mid-2010s and continuing through the present day, there has been a focus on transgender rights and discrimination.[16][17][15]

As of 2023, there are 1,175 openly-LGBTQ+ elected officials in the United States, more than ever before.[18]

There is little research on voter attitudes towards and the impacts of LGBTQ+ candidates.[19][20] One study found that voters significantly penalize lesbian, gay, and transgender candidates, with transgender candidates facing a significantly higher penalty than their lesbian and gay counterparts. The level of voter scrutiny against these candidates varied by partisanship, political ideology, religion, and voters' relationships with LGBT people, or lack thereof. The study attributed these biases most significantly to the worry of their "electability," along with outright prejudice and the worry that the candidates were too liberal.[19] Regarding the impacts of these candidates, LGBTQ+ representation in political office has been found to correlate strongly with the proposal and passage of pro-LGBTQ and equal rights legislation. It has also been found to positively influence societal perceptions of the LGBTQ+ community and their equal rights at large.[20][21][22]

  1. ^ a b Dwyer, Colin (November 7, 2018). "'Rainbow Wave': How Did The Record Class Of LGBTQ Nominees Fare?". NPR. Archived from the original on March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  2. ^ "About this Collection | LGBTQ+ Politics and Political Candidates Web Archive | Digital Collections | Library of Congress". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Archived from the original on 2023-03-08. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  3. ^ Caron, Christina (2018-11-07). "In 'Rainbow Wave,' L.G.B.T. Candidates Are Elected in Record Numbers". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2023-03-08. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  4. ^ "Rainbow Wave 2018". LGBTQ+ Victory Fund. Archived from the original on 2023-03-27. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  5. ^ Keith, Jarod (November 6, 2019). "144 Out LGBTQ Candidates Won Elected Office So Far in 2019; Most Ever in Odd-Numbered Election Year". LGBTQ+ Victory Fund. Archived from the original on 2023-03-27. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  6. ^ "2019 Annual Report" (PDF). Victory Fund. p. 6. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2023-04-23.
  7. ^ Moreau, Julie (December 10, 2020). "Record number of LGBTQ candidates won in November, new data reveals". NBC News. Archived from the original on 2023-03-27. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  8. ^ Keith, Jarod. "334 Out LGBTQ Candidates Won Elected Office So Far in 2020; Most Ever in Any Election Year". LGBTQ+ Victory Fund. Archived from the original on 2023-03-27. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  9. ^ Keith, Jarod. "184 LGBTQ Candidates Won Elected Office in 2021". LGBTQ+ Victory Fund. Archived from the original on 2023-03-27. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  10. ^ "436 LGBTQ Candidates Won in the 2022 General Election, 100 More than in 2020; 60% Win Rate". LGBTQ+ Victory Fund. November 10, 2022. Archived from the original on 2023-03-15. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  11. ^ Lavietes, Matt (2022-11-14). "Lesbians score big political gains in midterm elections' 'rainbow wave'". NBC News. Archived from the original on 2023-03-27. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  12. ^ Branigin, Anne (November 11, 2022). "A 'rainbow wave' of candidates made history. What's next for them?". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 19, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  13. ^ "1974: Kathy Kozachenko became the first openly gay or lesbian candidate to run successfully for political office in the United States, winning..." cawp.rutgers.edu. Archived from the original on 2023-03-27. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  14. ^ "#Pride50: America's first out lawmaker Elaine Noble". NBC News. Archived from the original on 2023-03-27. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  15. ^ a b Magni, Gabriele (2021). "Elections and the Role of LGBT Issues in the United States and Abroad". The Oxford Encyclopedia of LGBT Politics and Policy. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2023-05-03. Retrieved 2023-04-23 – via Oxford Reference.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  16. ^ "Mapping Attacks on LGBTQ Rights in U.S. State Legislatures". American Civil Liberties Union. Archived from the original on 2023-04-05. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  17. ^ Santhanam, Laura (2023-03-29). "Majority of Americans reject anti-trans bills, but support for this restriction is rising". PBS NewsHour. Archived from the original on 2023-04-06. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  18. ^ "National Map". Out for America. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  19. ^ a b Magni, Gabriele; Reynolds, Andrew (October 2021). "Voter Preferences and the Political Underrepresentation of Minority Groups: Lesbian, Gay, and Transgender Candidates in Advanced Democracies". Journal of Politics. 83 (4): 1205, 1207, 1210. doi:10.1086/712142. ISSN 0022-3816. S2CID 225106727 – via The University of Chicago Press Journals.
  20. ^ a b Reynolds, Andrew (2013). "Representation and Rights: The Impact of LGBT Legislators in Comparative Perspective". The American Political Science Review. 107 (2): 259, 265, 269, 271. doi:10.1017/S0003055413000051. JSTOR 43654014. S2CID 146562051 – via JSTOR.
  21. ^ Haider-Markel, Donald (2007). "Representation and Backlash: The Positive and Negative Influence of Descriptive Representation". Legislative Studies Quarterly. 32 (1): 107, 109, 118, 119, 120, 122, 126. doi:10.3162/036298007X202001. JSTOR 40263412 – via JSTOR.
  22. ^ Wald, Kenneth D.; Button, James W; Rienzo, Barbara A. (November 1996). "The Politics of Gay Rights in American Communities: Explaining Antidiscrimination Ordinances and Policies". American Journal of Political Science. 40 (4): 1152, 1163, 1165, 1167, 1168. doi:10.2307/2111746. JSTOR 2111746 – via JSTOR.
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