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List of LGBTQ members of the United States Congress

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As of November 2023, 32 members of the LGBTQ community are known to have held office in the United States Congress. In the House, 30 LGBTQ people held office; in the Senate, 4 held office. Two people, Tammy Baldwin, and Kyrsten Sinema, served in the House and were later elected into the Senate. The earliest known LGBTQ congressperson was Ed Koch, who began his term in the House in 1969. The earliest known LGBTQ senator is Harris Wofford, who began his term in 1991. Both men were not out during their tenure: Koch's sexuality was confirmed after his death and Wofford announced his plans to marry a man over 20 years after serving in the Senate. In 2024, Sarah McBride was elected as the nation's first openly transgender member of Congress.

There are 12 openly LGBTQ members of the current (118th) Congress, all of whom are Democrats or aligned with Democrats. Three are senators and the rest are House representatives. This constitutes the second highest number of LGBTQ congresspeople serving at the same time in U.S. history.

Senate

† Came out after serving

Senator Party State Term Notes
Start End Length of
service
Harris Wofford† Democratic Pennsylvania May 8, 1991 January 3, 1995 3 years, 240 days Announced his marriage to a man in 2016.
Tammy Baldwin Democratic Wisconsin January 3, 2013 Incumbent 11 years, 351 days As an openly lesbian woman, Baldwin is the first openly LGBTQ senator.
Kyrsten Sinema Democratic
(2019–2022) 		Arizona January 3, 2019 Incumbent 5 years, 351 days Sinema is the first openly bisexual senator.
Independent
(2022–present)
Laphonza Butler Democratic California October 3, 2023 December 8, 2024 1 year, 66 days Butler is openly lesbian and is the first openly LGBTQ African-American senator.

House of Representatives

† Came out after serving ‡ Posthumously identified as LGBTQ

Representative Party State Term Notes
Start End Length of
service
Ed Koch‡ Democratic New York January 3, 1969 December 31, 1977 8 years, 362 days Koch denied he was gay throughout his life, but a 2022 article in The New York Times identified him as such.
Stewart McKinney‡ Republican Connecticut January 3, 1971 May 7, 1987 16 years, 124 days After dying in office of AIDS, McKinney was outed as bisexual in his obituary.
Barbara Jordan‡ Democratic Texas January 3, 1973 January 3, 1979 6 years, 0 days Jordan's domestic partnership with Nancy Earl was revealed in her obituary in 1996, making her the first LGBTQ woman in Congress (per the U.S. National Archives).
Gerry Studds Democratic Massachusetts January 3, 1973 January 3, 1997 24 years, 0 days Studds came out as gay as a result of his implication in the 1983 congressional page sex scandal. He became the first openly LGBTQ person to win election to Congress with his reelection in 1984.
Robert Bauman Republican Maryland August 21, 1973 January 3, 1981 7 years, 135 days Bauman was outed as gay in October 1980 while in office, making him the first openly LGBTQ member of Congress.
Jon Hinson Republican Mississippi January 3, 1979 April 13, 1981 2 years, 100 days Hinson was outed as gay after being arrested on a charge of oral sodomy on February 4, 1981.
Barney Frank Democratic Massachusetts January 3, 1981 January 3, 2013 32 years, 0 days Frank came out as gay in 1987 and in 2012 became the first member of Congress in a same-sex marriage.
Steve Gunderson Republican Wisconsin January 3, 1981 January 3, 1997 16 years, 0 days Gunderson was outed as gay on the floor of the House in 1994, Gunderson was the first openly gay Republican to be reelected after being outed.
Jim Kolbe Republican Arizona January 3, 1985 January 3, 2007 22 years, 0 days Kolbe came out as gay while in office after voting for the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. He was the first openly gay person to address the Republican National Convention.
Michael Huffington† Republican California January 3, 1993 January 3, 1995 2 years, 0 days. Huffington came out as bisexual in 1998
Mark Foley† Republican Florida January 3, 1995 September 29, 2006 11 years, 269 days Foley came out as gay after being implicated in a 2006 congressional page scandal.
Tammy Baldwin Democratic Wisconsin January 3, 1999 January 3, 2013 14 years, 0 days Baldwin is openly lesbian, and was the first openly LGBTQ non-incumbent elected to Congress.
Mike Michaud Democratic Maine January 3, 2003 January 3, 2015 12 years, 0 days Michaud came out as gay in 2013.
Jared Polis Democratic Colorado January 3, 2009 January 3, 2019 10 years, 0 days In 2011, Polis became the first same-sex parent in Congress.
Aaron Schock† Republican Illinois January 3, 2009 March 31, 2015 6 years, 87 days Schock came out as gay in 2020.
David Cicilline Democratic Rhode Island January 3, 2011 May 31, 2023 12 years, 148 days Cicilline is openly gay.
Sean Patrick Maloney Democratic New York January 3, 2013 January 3, 2023 10 years, 0 days Maloney is openly gay. In 2014, he married his longtime partner.
Mark Pocan Democratic Wisconsin January 3, 2013 Incumbent 11 years, 351 days Pocan is openly gay and the first LGBTQ member of Congress to replace another LGBTQ member of Congress (Tammy Baldwin) and the first non-incumbent in a same-sex marriage elected to Congress.
Kyrsten Sinema Democratic Arizona January 3, 2013 January 3, 2019 6 years, 0 days Sinema was the first openly bisexual member of Congress.
Mark Takano Democratic California January 3, 2013 Incumbent 11 years, 351 days Takano is openly gay and the first openly LGBTQ person of color (specifically Asian American) elected to Congress.
Angie Craig Democratic Minnesota January 3, 2019 Incumbent 5 years, 351 days Craig is openly lesbian and the first non-incumbent LGBTQ parent elected to Congress.
Sharice Davids Democratic Kansas January 3, 2019 Incumbent 5 years, 351 days Davids is openly lesbian and the first openly LGBTQ woman of color (specifically Native American) elected to Congress.
Katie Hill Democratic California January 3, 2019 November 1, 2019 302 days Hill is openly bisexual.
Chris Pappas Democratic New Hampshire January 3, 2019 Incumbent 5 years, 351 days Pappas is openly gay.
Mondaire Jones Democratic New York January 3, 2021 January 3, 2023 2 years, 0 days Along with Ritchie Torres, Jones was the first openly gay African American elected to Congress.
Ritchie Torres Democratic New York January 3, 2021 Incumbent 3 years, 351 days Along with Mondaire Jones, Torres was the first openly gay African American elected to Congress, and the first openly gay Hispanic member of Congress.
Becca Balint Democratic Vermont January 3, 2023 Incumbent 1 year, 351 days Balint is openly lesbian.
Robert Garcia Democratic California January 3, 2023 Incumbent 1 year, 351 days Garcia is openly gay.
George Santos Republican New York January 3, 2023 December 1, 2023 332 days Santos is openly gay and the first openly LGBTQ non-incumbent Republican elected to Congress
Eric Sorensen Democratic Illinois January 3, 2023 Incumbent 1 year, 351 days Sorensen is openly gay.
Julie Johnson Democratic Texas January 3, 2025 Elect −15 days Johnson is openly lesbian and the first openly LGBTQ individual to represent a southern state in Congress.
Sarah McBride Democratic Delaware January 3, 2025 Elect −15 days McBride is the first openly transgender individual elected to Congress.
Emily Randall Democratic Washington January 3, 2025 Elect −15 days Randall is the first openly LGBTQ Hispanic woman elected to Congress.

Shadow representatives

Further information: Shadow congressperson
Representative Party Jurisdiction Term Notes
Start End Length of service
Sabrina Sojourner Democratic District of Columbia January 3, 1997 January 3, 1999 2 years, 0 days Sojourner came out as lesbian in 1976.

Histograph of openly-serving LGBTQ members of Congress

Starting Total Graph Event
March 4, 1789 0   Steady United States Congress established
October 3, 1980 1
Increase Robert Bauman outed
January 3, 1981 0 Decrease Robert Bauman lost reelection
February 4, 1981 1
Increase Jon Hinson outed
April 13, 1981 0 Decrease Jon Hinson resigned
July 14, 1983 1
Increase Gerry Studds comes out
May 29, 1987 2
Increase Barney Frank comes out
March 24, 1994 3
Increase Steve Gunderson outed
August 1, 1996 4
Increase Jim Kolbe comes out
January 3, 1997 2
Decrease Gerry Studds and Steve Gunderson retired
January 3, 1999 3
Increase Tammy Baldwin elected to the House
January 3, 2007 2
Decrease Jim Kolbe retired
January 3, 2009 3
Increase Jared Polis elected
January 3, 2011 4
Increase David Cicilline elected
January 3, 2011 7
Increase Tammy Baldwin retired from the House, elected to the Senate; Sean Patrick Maloney, Mark Pocan, Kyrsten Sinema, and Mark Takano elected; Barney Frank retired
November 4, 2013 8
Increase Mike Michaud comes out
January 3, 2015 7
Decrease Mike Michaud retired
January 3, 2019 10
Increase Kyrsten Sinema retired from the House, elected to the Senate; Angie Craig, Sharice Davids, Katie Hill, and Chris Pappas elected; Jared Polis retired
November 1, 2019 9
Decrease Katie Hill resigned
January 3, 2021 11
Increase Mondaire Jones and Ritchie Torres elected
December 9, 2022 11
Steady Kyrsten Sinema registered as an independent
January 3, 2023 13
Increase Becca Balint, Robert Garcia, George Santos, and Eric Sorensen elected; Mondaire Jones lost renomination; Sean Patrick Maloney lost reelection
June 1, 2023 12
Decrease David Cicilline resigned
October 4, 2023 13
Increase Laphonza Butler appointed
December 1, 2023 12
Decrease George Santos expelled
  Democratic Party   Republican Party   Independent

See also

Notes

  1. From the start of the 118th Congress until the resignation of Rep. David Cicilline (D–CT) on Jun. 1, 2023, and again from the appointment of Sen. Laphonza Butler (D–CA) on Oct. 4, 2023, until the expulsion of Rep. George Santos (R–NY) on Dec. 1, 2023, there were 13 total LGBTQ members of Congress.
  2. Incidentally, this also marked the first election in which both major party candidates (Santos and Democrat Rob Zimmerman) were openly LGBTQ

References

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