Last night, 148 openly LGBTQ candidates won their elections, totaling over 200 in the entirety of 2023′s campaigns—more than any other odd-numbered election year in the nation’s history.

The LGBTQ community fared an unprecedented onslaught battle in legislation this year, not to mention how the surge of debates over LGBTQ issues have directly correlated to the increase of hate crimes.

On behalf of the LGBTQ Victory Fund, a national organization dedicated to electing out LGBTQ people, President and CEO Annise Parker released a statement late last night that pointed out how Republican politicians used LGBTQ people and topics as “a political weapon.”

What they thought would garner votes backfired; voters rejected anti-LGBTQ candidates’ cynical tactics.

“Tonight’s rainbow wave is a testament to the perseverance of LGBTQ+ political power and a bellwether for the 2024 election cycle,” Parker wrote in the statement. “Equality wins elections—not culture war scare tactics.”

Make no mistake: the damage from this year’s anti-LGBTQ rhetoric has already been done—from the plummeting of trans youth’s mental health to the shootings in queer spaces, and the homicides against Black trans women.

Despite Biden’s 11% drop in approval ratings since the Israel and Hamas war last month, Democrats were still hopeful to win the majority votes this election. According to David Leonhardt and Ian Prasad Philbrick at The New York Times, people who vote in off-year elections—outside of presidential elections—tend to already be engaged in politics.

Additionally, the Democratic Party does better in lower-turnout elections due to the class inversion in which white-collar white workers trend Democratic in a voting system that disenfranchises poor and BIPOC voters.

Here’s a roundup of what this election can teach us about where the LGBTQ community stands in struggles and victories.

Over 500 openly LGBTQ candidates ran for office, 128 won

In a near 20% increase since the 2021 elections, hundreds of LGBTQ Americans ran for office, from seats at a local city council to even seats at the Senate.

Sean Meloy, the vice president of political programs at the LGBTQ Victory Fund tells Reckon that representation is power. According to him, being “at the table” gives queer, trans and nonbinary officials the voice to challenge demonizing and untruthful statements about the community.

“We are just vastly underrepresented in so many places where those conversations continue to happen without us, certainly at law school board levels and City Council’s local levels,” he said. “We still have tens of thousands of LGBTQ people to get elected in order to be a truly effective representative.”

LGBTQ Victory Fund also happens to be the only national organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ leaders to public office, and they released a 2023 Out on the Trail report, the only annual report that kept track of the LGBTQ candidates who ran for office in 2023.

“So many people who run for office lose the first time,” he said, adding that LGBTQ Victory Fund’s very own president and CEO Parker ran multiple times before becoming the first openly LGBTQ person on the Houston city council and eventually becoming Houston’s mayor. “[Our] candidates are going to redouble their efforts and be back.”

Firsts in Virginia, Mississippi and more

Danica Roem won her District 30 seat as the first out transgender senator in Virginia and in any southern state. She is the second in the country, the first having been Sarah McBride in Delaware.

Virginia is also the only southern state left without any harsh bans on reproductive rights, specifically abortion bans. Aside from Roem’s major win, Joshua Cole’s campaign for House of Delegates has been highly watched, since his election will determine if Virginia’s House has a pro-equality or pro-choice majority. Cole, a Black and openly queer man, won his campaign.

In Mississippi, which faced 26 anti-LGBTQ bills in the legislative session this year, Fabian Nelson won his seat for the House of Representatives in District 66.

“Being elected to the Mississippi State Legislature and serving the great people of District 66 has been a lifelong dream of mine. To see this come into fruition and having my children share in this moment is priceless,” said Nelson, who explained that his ability to be a leader is not mutually exclusive to his identity. “We have to stop focusing on labels and start electing people that will do the right thing by their constituents.”

School board elections and city councils

LGBTQ Victory Fund endorsed 166 candidates, and while many of them were successful, smaller-scale races did not fare out for many candidates. 23 Victory Fund-endorsed candidates are running for school boards, and 10 LGBTQ+ school board candidates had already won prior to Nov. 7.

Heather Rodenborg, who ran for Delaware City School Board, lost her campaign. Tommy Farrell of Colorado who is currently president of the Pueblo City School Board ran for another term and lost.

Schools have been under fire this year, from “Don’t Say Gay,” bills nationwide to bills banning drag performers from being in proximity to school grounds or near minors, not to mention books that are being contested across the country in efforts of LGBTQ censorship. Even public libraries outside of school boards have been in tension over queer books in libraries, like Ozark Dale County in Alabama.

The city council got involved, and although the censorship efforts on behalf of the mayor were unsuccessful, it was the voices of city councilmembers that helped preserve LGBTQ books. Although many LGBTQ councilmembers won their elections, the losses are enough to keep an eye out on how next year’s battles around gender and sexuality will fare out.

Melanie Brown of Indiana did not win her election for Carmel City Council, and the same for Maydeé Morales of Massachusetts, who ran for Worcester City Council. Richard Trojanski ran for Ohio’s Maple Heights city council and lost. He took it to Facebook on Tuesday to reflect on his run.

“This is painful and it will be for a very long time, but I want you to remember this: Our campaign was never about one person or even one election; it was about making our city an inclusive and welcoming place for all,” he wrote.

In Houston, Tx., two openly LGBTQ candidates, Nick Hellyar and Mario Castillo are both still in the race for separate districts and positions in the Houston City Council. Their election will resume next month.

In Miami, Fl. Damian Pardo and Michael Góngora, both openly LGBTQ, are also still in the race. Former City Commissioner Góngora will be head-to-head with Vice Mayor Steven Meiner, the two biggest vote-earners on Election Day, and they are headed to a Nov. 21 runoff. Meanwhile, longtime community activist Pardo will be head-to-head with incumbent Miami Commissioner Sabina Covo, also on Nov. 21.

In an email statement today from Parker on behalf of her organization LGBTQ Victory Fund, she wrote:

“After a year of brutal anti-LGBTQ legislation and seeing trans kids used as political footballs, these results are a clear sign of hope. Despite the shocking levels of bigotry, LGBTQ+ people ran in historic numbers – and won big on Election Night. Their bravery was rewarded on election day.

As we head into the 2024 election cycle, one thing is clear: our rights are decided at the ballot box. And this community has made it clear we will not be sitting at home. We are running, we are voting, and we are winning.”