Is a blue wave an LGBTQ+ issue? Hell yes.
But before anyone starts celebrating, let me ask you a question: Do you remember the last time almost everyone seemed convinced that a blue victory was inevitable?
Donald Trump versus Hillary Clinton.
We know how that turned out.
There were many reasons Hillary Clinton lost, but one lesson should have been permanently burned into our political memory: Never assume an election is over before the votes are counted. Never assume the polls will do the work for you. And never believe your neighbor’s vote means you can stay home.
If you want change, you have to vote.
And this election is about much more than who controls Congress. Across the country, voters will be choosing governors, state senators, state representatives and other officials whose decisions can have an enormous impact on LGBTQ+ lives.
Let me use my home state of Pennsylvania as an example.
Voter registration deadline is October 19, 2026
Pennsylvania was one of the earliest states in the nation where legislation was introduced to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. That was more than half a century ago.
And we are still waiting.
For decades, LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanians have fought to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the state’s nondiscrimination law. The Pennsylvania House has moved LGBTQ+ civil-rights legislation forward, but the Republican-controlled State Senate has remained the roadblock.
This year, that could change.
Republicans currently control the Pennsylvania Senate. Democrats need to net two seats to gain an outright majority. Suddenly, several State Senate races that most people outside those districts would normally pay little attention to could determine whether LGBTQ+ civil-rights legislation finally reaches the governor’s desk.
Think about that.
A handful of State Senate races could help accomplish something LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanians have been fighting for for more than half a century.
And yes, this one is personal for me. I’ve been lobbying for this legislation, in one form or another, since it was first introduced more than 50 years ago. So Gov. Josh Shapiro, when you finally sign it, I’d like the pen.
By now, we’ve all been bombarded with political commercials telling us which candidate voted for what, who said what, and why the other person is supposedly terrible. It can become exhausting, and eventually it all starts sounding like noise.
But here is something that isn’t noise: State legislative elections matter.
They determine whether legislation protecting our community moves forward or dies in committee. They determine whether a governor has a legislature willing to put civil-rights legislation on his desk.
So yes, pay attention to Washington. Vote for Congress. Vote for the U.S. Senate.
But then keep going down that ballot.
Vote for governor. Vote for your State Senate candidate. Vote for your State House candidate. Vote in the races that don’t make national television.
And whatever the polls are predicting, don’t sit home because somebody told you a blue wave is coming.
Waves don’t vote. People do.
