Trans candidates are running on a slew of issues besides anti-LGBTQ bills
Transgender candidates for state legislatures in Florida, Missouri, Iowa, Indiana, California and Hawaii said their LGBTQ identities have been central to their politics.
Ashley Brundage, a transgender woman running for a seat in the Florida House of Representatives, is looking forward to shaking Gov. Ron DeSantis’ hand.
Brundage, a Democrat, credits DeSantis, a Republican, for inspiring what could be political history: If she wins, she’d be the first trans woman elected to public office in Florida. Brundage said she hopes DeSantis — who has made anti-LGBTQ education and health care bills a cornerstone of his second term in the governor’s office — attends her would-be swearing-in ceremony and comes face-to-face with one of the Floridians whose lives have become increasingly scrutinized under his watch.
Ashley Brundage is one of two out transgender candidates running for a seat in the Florida House of Representatives.Courtesy Ashley Brundage Campaign “Making up all kinds of culture war bills, having bills literally drafted to try and eliminate me from society, I think, is a waste of time, resources and money from the state of Florida,” Brundage said.
NBC News spoke with seven transgender candidates who are running for seats in state legislatures nationwide about what they hope to accomplish if they are elected. They listed a variety of policy issues that motivated them to run for office — from affordable housing to climate change. Nearly all said they were inspired or felt pushed to run because of the wave of anti-LGBTQ bills proposed and passed by state lawmakers in the chambers they’re seeking to join.
“The transgender community has been targeted and has been under attack, and that has been concerted attacks going back a number of years now. And when any community is under attack, it is important that individuals from that community speak up and be in leadership positions responding to the attacks,” said Lisa Middleton, a Democratic candidate for the California Senate.
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