How many openly LGBTQ+ members Congress are there?
Critical Analysis
According to the data from the visual above, what was the first year an out (someone who is publicly and openly) LGBTQ candidate won a seat in the U.S. House.
According to the data from the graph above, as of 2023 what was the total number of out LGBTQ members of Congress.
Based on the visual above, describe one trend in the data.
What do you think best explains that change over time?
Ed Koch (D) NY, Stewart McKinney (R) CT, and Barbara Jordan (D) TX, were all closeted (LGBTQ, but NOT out) representatives who served in the U.S. House in the 1970s. They were all posthumously (after their death) revealed to be LGBTQ. What about American political culture (general American political beliefs and values) and the U.S. political system explains why they chose to hide their sexual orientation in the 1970s and 1980s?
The other day in class, a student named Beth said that sexual orientation of candidates doesn’t matter, and that people should vote for the best candidate, not just the one with the sexual orientation they prefer. Make a claim responding to Beth’s statement.
More LGBTQ people ran for U.S. Congress in 2022 than in any other election cycle in U.S. history. At least 101 people ran for the U.S. Senate or U.S. House in 2022. Based on these numbers and the visual above, what portion of out LGBTQ candidates won in the 2022 midterm election.
Based on the data from the visual below*, what demographic group is most supportive of LGBTQ candidates?
Based on the visual above, how many openly LGBTQ members of congress do you predict there will be after the next election, in the 119th congress?
The party affiliation of LGBTQ congressional candidates is listed below.* Why do you think there is such a huge gap in party affiliation of LGBTQ candidates?
Learning Extension
According to Out in American, there are currently 11 out LGBTQ members of the U.S. House and two out LGBTQ members of the U.S. There are over 10070 out elected officials nationwide.
Action Extension
Whatever your sexual orientation, take two minutes and register to vote online.