Family Equality CEO: “American voters delivered a thunderous mandate for dignity, equality, and common sense.”

NEW YORK, N.Y. — As the dust settles on the 2026 midterm elections, one truth has emerged above the noise: voters across the nation decisively rejected anti-LGBTQ+ fearmongering at the ballot box, electing a new wave of pro-equality champions and demanding a shift toward real, everyday priorities.

Despite deep-pocketed extremist groups and candidates dumping at least $340 million into anti-transgender advertisements alone, the anticipated anti-LGBTQ+ backlash failed to fully materialize. While a number of harmful anti-trans ballot measures did pass in a few states, overwhelmingly, Americans chose safety, economic security, and personal freedom over division.

“Last night’s results exposed the failure of extremist strategies that attack our families and put our community in harm’s way,” said Darra Gordon, CEO of Family Equality. “Anti-equality groups poured tens of millions of dollars into demonizing our families, expecting a wave of hate. Instead, American voters delivered a thunderous mandate for dignity, equality, and common sense. People care about feeding their families, feeling safe in their neighborhoods, and securing a hopeful future, not government overreach into their private lives.”

While the election delivered vital victories, mixed outcomes on ballot measures targeting transgender youth and reproductive rights underscore the battles still ahead. Family Equality and its nationwide coalition are launching an immediate, multi-front push across local, state, and federal levels to lock in legal protections and defend vulnerable communities.

“We are not backing down, and we are not waiting,” Gordon said. “With this clear mandate, Family Equality is mobilizing nationwide, demanding policy action at every level of government, insulating families from political attacks regardless of who holds office, and amplifying the real-life stories that move hearts, minds, and elections.”

According to the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, 145 certified measures were on the ballot this November — many of which focused on transgender inclusion in sports, life-saving transgender healthcare, and reproductive freedom. While Arizona, Colorado, and Washington voted to approve ballot measures restricting freedoms for trans youth in particular: 

In addition, pro-equality candidates were voted into office up and down the ballot. This includes the historic wins of the first openly gay man elected to the U.S. Senate (Chris Pappas); the first out transgender and nonbinary state lawmakers in Georgia (Bentley Hudgins), Alabama (Allison Montgomery), and Rhode Island (Kim Ahern); and the first openly LGBTQ+ Congresspeople from Indiana (JD Ford), the U.S. Virgin Islands (Janelle Sarauw), and Michigan (Jeremy Moss); and the first openly gay parent elected to the Florida legislature (Todd Delmay). 

Finally, a number of LGBTQ+ lawmakers were reelected, including Sarah McBride in Delaware, Eric Sorensen in Illinois, Maura Healey in Massachusetts, Zooey Zephyr in Montana, Sharice Davids in Kansas, Ritchie Torres in New York, Malcolm Kenyatta in Pennsylvania, DeShanna Neal in Delaware, Mark Pocan in Wisconsin, Mark Takano in California and more. 

“These important victories — and the disheartening losses for trans youth in states across the country — remind us that our work is far from over. For nearly 50 years, Family Equality has been fighting for equality, and we’re not stopping now. Along with our movement partners, we repeat the promises that we made after the second election of President Trump: We’ve got this. We’ve got us. The fight continues.”

Family Equality is creating a world where everyone can experience the love, safety, and belonging of family. As the leading national organization for current and future LGBTQ+ families, we work to ensure that everyone has the freedom to find, form, and sustain their families by advancing LGBTQ+ equality through advocacy, resources, storytelling, and education.

Media contact:

###