Six Openly Gay Candidates Elected To Congress; Seventh Leading

Six openly gay candidates were elected to Congress on Tuesday, with a seventh leading.

Senator-elect Tammy Baldwin won her Wisconsin race against former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson. She edged out her Republican competitor with a larger lead than expected, 51.5 to 45.9% with 99.6% of precincts reporting. Baldwin becomes the first openly gay U.S. senator.

(Related: Tammy Baldwin wins Senate seat; First openly gay senator.)

Mark Pocan, a small business owner and a Wisconsin state representative, won his bid to fill the 2^nd Congressional seat being vacated by Baldwin. His Republican challenger, Chad Lee, ran an unsuccessful bid against Baldwin in 2010. The 48-year-old Pocan married his husband Phil in Canada in 2006.

Richard Tisei is the only upset so far among the 8 openly LGBT candidates. He lost his bid to become the House's first openly gay Republican. Massachusetts voters decided instead to return Representative John Tierney to Congress.

Mark Takano won his race against Republican John Tavaglione to become the first openly gay Asian-American in Congress. Takano's newly created 41^st Congressional District includes the Inland Empire, a region located east of Los Angeles.

In New York, Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney, a former adviser to President Bill Clinton, derailed incumbent Nan Hayworth, a moderate Republican with a record of supporting gay rights. Maloney and his partner of 20 years, Randy Florke, are raising three children.

Two openly gay House members, David Cicilline of Rhode Island and Jared Polis of Colorado, will also return next year.

In Arizona, Kyrsten Sinema holds a narrow lead against her Republican rival, Vernon Parker. If elected, Sinema, 36, would become the first openly bisexual member of Congress.