Update: Raven Matherne won a seat on the Stamford Connecticut Board of Representatives and is believed to be the city’s first openly transgender lawmaker.

On Tuesday, November 7th EIGHT transgender candidates made history!

• Danica Roem was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates.
• Andrea Jenkins and Phillipe Cunningham of Minneapolis, Minnesota won seats on the City Council.
• Lisa Middleton was elected to the City Council in Palm Springs, California.
• Tyler Titus was elected to the Erie School Board in Pennsylvania.
• Gerri Cannon won a School Board seat in Somersworth, New Hampshire.
• Stephe Koontz won a seat on Doraville, Georgia City Council.

Other candidates made history too. Seattle elected their first lesbian mayor; Hoboken, New Jersey elected their first Sikh mayor; a Black Lives Matter lawyer won the District Attorney race in Philadelphia; and Charlotte, North Carolina elected their first African American woman mayor.

These candidates didn’t just talk about how terrible Trump has been. They talked boldly about our vision and the values of fairness and equality we stand for. That’s exactly what we plan to do all across the nation as we keep up the fight for nondiscrimination protections.

For several years we’ve been building understanding and educating communities about the real lives of transgender people. Now, we have a roadmap to harness the growing progressive momentum, build power among our state-based member organizations, continue to stand up to bigotry, and score more victories for equality all across the nation.

It won’t be easy.

In celebration of our momentum, please RSVP now to pledge your support for Equality Federation on #GivingTuesday – the upcoming national day of giving held just after Thanksgiving. Your support will help us propel the momentum forward.

Now is the time to join us and help us build our power town by town, state by state.