Ride That Rainbow Wave

Well, a week after the election and it’s pretty clear that, yep, that was a Blue Wave. It wasn’t a fast-moving tsunami, but a slow-moving tide that took time to crest. (Because, well, that’s how our elections work these days with more and more complicated ways to vote. Absentee, by mail, in person, provisional, conditional. If there’s one think journalists can do help safeguard the 2020 eleciton – besides calling a lie a lie – it is to explain to the American people that is takes a long damn time to properly count all the votes – especially in big states with tight races. No, votes aren’t magically appearing. It’s called The U.S. Postal Service, you dolts.)

Anyway. The other obvious thing is the Rainbow Wave that was part of this Blue Wave. More than 150 LGBTQ candidates won their elections on the federal, state and local levels. And, among those, were so many wonderful triumph and firsts.

Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona (whose race was finally called yesterday) won becoming the first out bisexual person elected to the Senate. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin won and continues to be the first out lesbian and first out LGBTQ person, period, elected to the Senate. Kate Brown of Oregon won and continues to be the first out bisexual person elected as governor in the United States. Jared Polis of Colorado won and became the first out gay man elected as governor in the United States. Angie Craig of Minnesota won and was elected the first lesbian mom in Congress (who for good measure beat an incumbent Republican/virulent homophobe who once compared gay people to rapists). Sharice Davids of Kansas won and becomes the first lesbian elected to represent Congress from the state (and one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress). Remember her campaign ad? Because I do, quite fondly.



And Dana Nessel of Michigan became the state’s first out lesbian attorney general, and quite possibly the first person to ever run a winning political campaign by promising to never show you her penis in a professional setting. I am not kidding, this was one of her ads.



When she won she reportedly said this:

“And for all of you out there that can’t handle the fact that I’m about to become the first openly gay person to hold statewide office [in Michigan]…”

Then she proceeded to plant a big kiss on her wife, Alanna Maguire.



Yep, the future looks super, duper gay.