Social Studies Lab

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Out in Congress

Jonathan Milner

Critical Analysis

  1. 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.

  2. According to the data from the graph above, as of 2020 what was the total number of out LGBTQ members of Congress.

  3. Based on the visual above, describe one trend in the data.

  4. What do you think best explains that change over time?

  5. 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?

  6. The other day in class, a student named Sarah 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 Sarah’s statement.

  7. More LGBTQ people are ran for U.S. Congress in 2022 than in any other election cycle in U.S. history. At least 101 people ran or are running for the U.S. Senate or U.S. House in 2022. That marks a 16.1 percent increase in LGBTQ Congressional candidates compared to the 2020 election cycle, when 87 people ran. Based on these numbers and the visual above, predict how many out members of Congress there will be after the 2024 election.

  8. Based on the data from the visual below*, what demographic group is most supportive of LGBTQ candidates?

  9. Nationwide, 33 LGBTQ candidates are currently running for congress. According to the map below* how many out LGBTQ politicians represent your state at the local, state, and federal level?

  10. 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

Currently there are nine out LGBTQ members of the U.S. House and two out LGBTQ members of the U.S. Senate.

Action Extension

Whatever your sexual orientation, if you will be 18 years old by Tuesday, November 8 then take two minutes and register to vote online. If you are too young to vote this year then find someone who is old enough and convince them to register.

Visual Extension*