Number of LGBTQ elected officials in U.S. doubled since 2017
The number of LGBTQ elected officials grew by nearly 6% last year, according to the LGBTQ Victory Institute, which trains and advocates for queer political
The number of LGBTQ elected officials grew by nearly 6% last year, according to the LGBTQ Victory Institute, which trains and advocates for queer political candidates and officeholders. Since 2017, when the organization began releasing data, the number has nearly doubled, growing from 448 LGBTQ elected officials that year to 1,043 in 2022, the group’s annual Out in America report found.
Even with the dramatic increase in representation, LGBTQ elected officials make up just 0.2% of all elected officials in the U.S., according to the report, while lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people compose an estimated 7.1% of the U.S. population. To reach equitable representation, voters would need to elect 35,854 more LGBTQ people, including 27 to Congress, according to the Victory Institute.
“Despite the fact the LGBTQ community has never had equitable representation in government — and we still have a long way to go — there are clear signs of progress,” Annise Parker, president and CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Institute and the former mayor of Houston, said in a statement. “They represent the strength and diversity of not only who we are as a society now, but also the America we aspire to build for future generations.”
The upcoming election season could mean more historic firsts in Congress and statehouses, where anti-LGBTQ legislation has gained traction in many states, but uncertain prospects for the Democratic Party — to which most LGBTQ candidates belong — could also hurt their chances.
A notable increase in representation, the report found, was among LGBTQ officials of color, whose numbers increased 12.3% from June 2021 to this June, compared to 1.3% for white elected officials. Since 2017, elected officials of color have increased by 238 percent yet still remain underrepresented compared to white officials, whose representation has increased by 102 percent over the same time period.
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