The Nation Widely Elects Pro-Equality Candidates And Shows Up In Droves to Do It
(November 5, 2025)- Getting voters to the polls is always the biggest challenge for every election, especially when there isn’t a Presidential race on the ballot. What voters rarely understand is how incredibly impactful local races are. Most of the hate-based candidates start at the races that get the least attention, like school board and move their way up the ladder until they are state representatives and senators. Its electing the people that are banning books in schools. It is the judges that determine sentences and policing in your area and right now its selecting the voices that will choose to fight for you or against you in the face of Trump, ICE and when SNAP gets cancelled or resources are cut-off. These races matter more now than ever and possibly because the general public is so dissatisfied with the federal administration, folks are showing up to send a clear message that a tide change was being demanded and that wave was pretty damn blue and rainbow.
A clear message was sent between winners and exit polls, the American people clearly rejected Republicans, establishment politicians, Trump allies, culture and immigration wars, conservative and Anti-Trans platforms. They are concerned about an eroding Democracy, the price of food, tariff wars and assuredly, the government shut-downs putting more families at risk. In 2024, a segment of people rose to power on campaigns of hate and many more were willing to overlook the dire consequences for immigrants and Trans folks especially with promises of economic relief. Eleven months in and with the unemployment rate raising, poverty getting worse and the price of goods, continuing to soar, FAFO was hitting populations of Americans who thought they were safe from MAGA consequence.
In the face of all of this, interestingly, the majority of Republicans seemed to be unwilling to separate themselves from either Trump or his unpopular policies. While Democrats for the most part, took little action, tried to make few waves and positioned themselves as moderately as possible not wanting to alienate the conservative hum that had fallen over most of the country. This off-year election was the first test as to whether that strategy would be an effective one. By in large, it was not. November 5th was a repudiation of our current status quo and it’s one both Democrats and Republicans best pay close attention to before the mid-term elections in 2026. Although the next Presidential election isn’t until 2028, the mid-term elections in 2026 will determine Trump’s ability to maintain a foothold in the both houses that allow him to get questionable legislation and appointments through and keep things like the Epstein files under raps.
Maybe the most notable win was Zohran Mamdani, who was convincingly elected as the next Mayor of New York City over defamed ex-Governor Andrew Cuomo, NYC royalty from a dynasty of NYC royalty. Cuomo had been on the receiving end of sexual assault accusations but even that rarely matters amongst the white, wealthy and powerful. NYC is the nation’s deepest melting pot but also deeply segregated with very little access to wealth amongst most of its residents. Mamdani, a millennial, Muslim, Ugandan immigrant was everything Trump and a post-9/11 NYC rejected. He self describes as a Democratic Socialist, was outspoken in his support of the working class of the city, immigrants, Muslims, and Trans folks. He chased the youth vote showing up at clubs, concerts, working social media and getting out in the streets to meet the people. He made commercials in the languages (literally and figuratively) of his constituents airing ads in spanish, different Arabic languages and featuring the stories of Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. Instead of trying to make himself “look more American” he made his campaign sound like what America actually looks like. He appealed to the young, immigrant, Black and working class that they say don’t and won’t vote. And then they did. He appealed to the wealthy that actually are willing to give more to do more for those that have less. The Robin Hood of Queens, living in a rent-stabilized apartment while teaching at Columbia- got over 1 MILLION VOTES and over 2 million New Yorkers showed up to make sure their voices were heard which is unheard of in an off year election. The most since 1969- nearly 60 years ago. On Wednesday, congratulations, celebrations and tearful gratitude poured in all over social media from all over the country. From middle-America to the middle of Florida, Mamdani’s win was a flash of light in what have felt like very very dark days in this country.
Pro-Equality Governors recorded big wins, Abigail Spanberger in Virginia and Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey. Both were supported by the Human Rights Campaign. Gina Ortiz-Jones San Antonio’s out-lesbian Mayoral candidate won by run-off earlier in the year, Ghazala Hasmi defeated GOP candidate Jack Ciattarelli for New Jersey Mayor. Downington, PA elected their 1st Trans Mayor. Black women had a big day. Crystal Davis for Mayor of Plymouth, NC, Connie Alsobrook in Conyers, GA, Mary Sheffield Mayor of Detroit, Dorcey Applyrs Mayor of Albany, NY, Sharon Owens Mayor of Syracuse, NY and Vi Lyles Mayor of Charlotte, NC.
National LGBTQ Taskforce President, Kierra Johnson,
“..this all proves one thing: when we fight back together and still hold our values in principled struggle, we win. We can reject attempts to pit progressives against centrists, we can say ‘NO’ to egregious and shameful attacks on trans folks, immigrants and more. We can come together as working people, people deserving dignity and respect, and refuse to let them distract and divide us. And we can continue to have hard conversations that help us understand each other and find common ground.”
Possibly most significantly, California passed Prop 50, which replaces the state’s current congressional map. The redrawing of districting lines proposed by Governor Gavin Newsom will ideally flip 5 GOP seats, blue, to counter-act the five Republican seats created in Texas at the bequest of Trump in an attempt to influence the mid-term elections. There were heavy-hitters pushing Prop 50 from the star-studded cast of Scandal to former President Barack Obama,
“The essence of Prop 50 is to say that if you are going to play that game, then we are going to try to counteract that abuse of the system.”
In Mamdani’s acceptance speech he spoke life into a city and perhaps accidentally, a nation too.
“In this moment of political darkness, New York will be the light…. Here we believe in standing up for those we love, whether you are an immigrant, member of the Trans community, one of the many Black women that Donald Trump has fired from a Federal job, a single mom still waiting for the cost of groceries to go down, or anyone else with their back against a wall. Your struggle is ours too.”
Indeed… and that would make America great… for many, for the first time ever.