Number of LGBTQ elected officials up 200 percent since 2017

The number of LGBTQ elected officials in the U.S. has gone up nearly 200 percent since 2017, according to a new report from the LGBTQ+ Victory Institute. 

The report, first reported via NBC News, found that the amount of LGBTQ elected officials has risen 190.8 percent since 2017. It also found that there was a 10.8 percent rise in LGBTQ elected officials between June of last year and May. According to the report, it “reviews LGBTQ+ elected representation as of May 17, 2024.”

“Despite the historic news of having an LGBTQ+ elected official in every state and DC, we must remember just how important this year is for our candidates, elected officials, and our democracy,” Annise Parker, the president and CEO of the LGBTQ+ Victory Institute, said in the report released Tuesday, according to a press release from the group. 

“We know we still have a long way to go,” Parker continued. “The battles over bodily freedom and autonomy happening in school boards, state capitols, and even our federal government demand all of us to work even harder to get more LGBTQ+ people elected nationwide.”

The report found that as of mid-May there were 1,303 “known out” LGBTQ elected officials in the U.S., up from last year’s tally of 1,185, and that 0.25 percent of elected officials in the U.S. are LGBTQ.

“What happens through November and beyond is critical to building an America that truly represents all of us, and a call to many more in our community to run for elected office and help shape our future,” continued Parker, who previously served as the mayor of Houston.

A report released earlier this year from the LGBTQ+ Victory Institute and Loyola Marymount University’s LGBTQ+ Politics Research Initiative found nearly 30 percent of LGBTQ women candidates for office were discouraged from running due to their gender or gender identity,