This story originally appeared on The Advocate.
It was not just a blue wave at the ballot box, but a rainbow wave that voters chose on Tuesday. Here's a look at all of the out queer winners decided in the 2026 midterm election.
Sen-elect Chris Pappas (D) New Hampshire
Rep. Sarah McBride (D) Delaware
Sarah McBride, the first out trans member of CongressCourtesy McBride for DelawareDelaware voters sent trailblazing transgender Congresswoman Sarah McBride back to the U.S. Congress Tuesday. The nation's first out transgender federal lawmaker handily won reelection as the lone member of Congress from the First State. During her first term, House Republicans targeted the Democrat's access to women's bathrooms in the Capitol before she could cast her first vote. McBride handily defeated Republican Joseph Arminio.
Assemblymember-elect Bentley Hudgins (D) Georgia
Nonbinary Georgia Democrat Bentley Hudgins set to make history: ‘Hope is a discipline’Anna GirzoneBentley Hudgins won a seat in the Georgia Assembly as the the state's first out transgender and nonbinary state lawmaker. The longtime Democratic organizer made history in the Deep South by defeating Republican Samantha Boston in House District 90.
Rep. Sharice Davids (D) Kansas
Rep. Sharice Davids, D-Kan., walks down the House steps after the final votes of the week in the U.S. Capitol.Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty ImagesRep. Sharice Davids of Kansas won reelection to Congress, preserving her historic representation of the Sunflower State. The lesbian Democrat and Ho-Chunk Nation citizen defeated Republican Eric Jenkins, securing a fifth term in Congress after a campaign that highlighted competing visions for LGBTQ+ rights. Davids is one of the first two Native American women elected to the U.S. House and was the first out LGBTQ+ person elected to Congress from Kansas.
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D) New York
U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres speaking at a press conference, New York, NYlev radin/ShutterstockRep. Ritchie Torres, the first out gay Afro-Latino member of Congress, won a fourth term representing New York’s 15th Congressional District Tuesday. Voters chose to send the Bronx Democrat back to Washington instead of Republican Stylo Sapaskis and Independents Andre Easton and Jose Vega. When first elected in 2020, Torres joined Democrat Mondaire Jones as the first openly gay Black men elected to the House of Representatives.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
