All ten non-incumbent openly LGBT
congressional candidates lost their races on Tuesday.
While Congress' six out Democratic
House members – Jared Polis of Colorado, David Cicilline of Rhode
Island, Mark Takano of California, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, Mark
Pocan of Wisconsin and Sean Patrick Maloney of New York – kept
their seats, Congress' LGBT caucus won't be growing this year.
Business executive Angie Craig, a
lesbian Democrat who is raising four children with her wife Cheryl
Greene, was polling slightly ahead of her GOP rival Jason Lewis last
week, but the close race for the open seat in Minnesota's Second
District was called early Wednesday for Lewis.
Controversial Pinal County Sheriff Paul
Babeu, a Republican, lost in his bid to represent the people of
Arizona's 1st congressional district.
(Related: Ben
Carson endorses Paul Babeu for U.S. House.)
In Kentucky, Lexington Mayor Jim Gray
lost in his attempt to unseat Republican Senator Rand Paul. The
former GOP presidential candidate won re-election with 57 percent of
the vote.
Two of the candidates were openly
transgender. Democrat Misty Snow took on the taunting task of
challenging Utah Senator Mike Lee, who won 68 percent of the vote on
Tuesday. Misty Plowright, an Army veteran, also came up short in her
bid to unseat Colorado Rep. Doug Lambron, a five-term Republican
incumbent.
In Connecticut, Clay Cope, a gay
Republican, lost to incumbent Representative Elizabeth Esty by 14
percentage points.
Four other out Democrats running for
the House fell short on Tuesday, including Bao Nguyen of California,
Brady Walkinshaw of Washington, Matt Heinz of Arizona and Denise
Juneau of Montana.