Six States Elect Trans Officials in Historic Midterm Results

Voters in six U.S. states elected transgender candidates to public office for the first time during the midterm elections. According to projections from NBC, CNN, and CBS, winners were confirmed in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Michigan, Washington, and Wisconsin. These results mark a shift in legislative composition across both the South and the Midwest.

The wins in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida drew particular attention because they occurred in the Deep South, a region historically dominated by conservative voters. In Georgia's 90th House district, Bentley Hudgins defeated Republican Samantha Boston with 92.5% of the vote. Hudgins, who identifies as non-binary, will also serve as the first person of Japanese descent in the Georgia Legislature.

Hudgins stated that a top priority is countering attacks on Georgia residents by President Donald Trump and the Republican Party. In Alabama, Democrat Allison Montgomery took the 25th district seat from Republican Phillip Rigsby. This victory was one of three flips in the northern part of the state, which turned blue in these legislative races.

Montgomery faced criticism during the campaign from Scott Stadthagen, the chairman of the Alabama Republican Party. Stadthagen referred to Montgomery and another transgender Democratic candidate as men with mental disorders. In Florida, Quinnie Pérez became the state's first elected transgender official. Pérez, of Mexican descent, won a seat on the Orange County Soil and Water Conservation Board for District 1.

Pérez campaigned on supporting agricultural workers and protecting local biodiversity. In the Midwest and Northwest, Democrats won major legislative seats while also making history in state assemblies. Joanna Whaley, a hospital chaplain, became the first transgender person elected to the Michigan state legislature. Whaley previously described herself as a survivor of conversion therapy.

Jaelynn Scott won a seat in the Washington state legislature, becoming the first Black transgender state legislator in the United States. Dina Nina Martínez-Rutherford secured a similar victory in Wisconsin. These elections added new faces to state legislatures in six different regions of the country.