Rainbow Wave: We Now Have The Gayest Congress In History

With Democrat victories across the nation on Tuesday, the next Congress is set to become the gayest one yet.

After the rainbow wave on Tuesday, at least 17 LGBT candidates were elected by voters to serve on Capitol Hill. The Congressional Equality Caucus, which focuses on pushing LGBT policies forward, celebrated the results.

“The American people have made their voices heard. The 120th Congress will officially be the GAYEST Congress in history! (that we know of) Let’s get to work.”

The American people have made their voices heard.

The 120th Congress will officially be the GAYEST Congress in history! (that we know of)

Let’s get to work 🇺🇸🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ https://t.co/gxgh5eHGmB

— Congressional Equality Caucus (@EqualityCaucus) November 5, 2026

Three LGBT members are leaving Congress, but at least six are coming in, moving the total to 17, according to LGBT site PinkNews.

Democrat Chris Pappas became the first openly gay man elected to the Senate after he defeated former Republican Senator John Sununu for the open seat in New Hampshire. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), who was the first openly lesbian senator, was not up for re-election.

Rep. Sarah McBride (D-DE), a trans-identifying man representing Delaware, was re-elected to the House of Representatives.

Democrat JD Ford from deep-red Indiana became the state’s first openly gay member of Congress. He beat incumbent Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz to take the 5th Congressional District, a seat that has not elected a Democrat since 1990.

Lesbian Rep. Sharice Davids (D-KS) was re-elected for her fifth term, while gay Democrat Rep. Ritchie Torres won his fourth term representing New York.

Michigan also elected its first gay man to the House, with Democrat state senator Jeremy Moss, who will succeed Rep. Haley Stevens after her unsuccessful Senate primary run against Abdul El-Sayed.

Other LGBTQ members include Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI), Marine veteran JoAnna Mendoza (D-AZ), and Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-IL).

Ironically, this year’s Election Day results also brought a historic record of Muslims to Congress, including El-Sayed, who is set to become the first Muslim senator.

Several Muslims were also elected and re-elected to the House, including André Carson (D-IN), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Lateefah Simon (D-CA), Adam Hamawy (D-NJ), and Darializa Avila Chevalier (D-NY).