Democrat Robert Zimmerman, a 68-year-old marketing executive, will face George Santos, a 34-year-old Republican financier and son of Brazilians, in the midterm elections on Nov.
Analysts say the race in New York’s 3rd congressional district highlights the huge strides LGBTQ+ representation and acceptance have made on the political landscape.
“What’s remarkable is that it doesn’t seem like a big deal, which shows how far the country has come in accepting gay and lesbian candidates,” said Kyle Kondik, a political analyst at the University of Virginia Policy Center.
Zimmerman has a slight lead in the toss up race, according to nonpartisan election analyst The Cook Political Report, while Democratic incumbent Thomas Suozzi leaves office.
If he wins, Santos will be the first openly gay Republican to win a seat in Congress. Two Republicans were re-elected after coming out or being gay while in office.
Republicans, who analysts expect to make substantial gains in Tuesday’s election, need a net gain of five seats to regain control of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the US Congress.
political differences
“When it’s about [ambos os candidatos] being gay, that’s where the similarities end,” said Sean Meloy, vice president of political programs for the LGBTQ Victory Fund, an organization that supports LGBTQ+ political candidates and endorsed Zimmerman.
Zimmerman said his opponent “has stuck with the more extreme elements of the Republican Party” and would not protect LGBTQ+ rights if elected.
He pointed to Santos’ participation in former President Donald Trump’s rally on January 6 of last year, which preceded the riot on Capitol Hill, and his 2020 pledge to vote for a national abortion ban.
He also cited Santos’ support for Florida’s law to limit discussion of LGBTQ+ issues in schools, which has been dubbed the “don’t say gay” law by opponents.
Santos, a first-generation American whose parents emigrated from Brazil, sought to deflect attacks by focusing on issues such as inflation, the economy and crime.
Santos told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that Florida law gives parents more control over what children learn in school.
“Florida law takes into account the participation of parents in their children’s education,” Santos said in a telephone interview. “I am totally in favor of that.”
growing representation
The upcoming elections will see a record number of LGBTQ+ candidates, although they are still underrepresented in official positions.
Nearly 680 candidates are on the ballot for the November elections, 18% more than in 2020, according to a report by the LGBTQ Victory Fund.
Nine current members of the House and two of the Senate, the upper house of Congress, are openly gay, lesbian or bisexual. All are Democrats.
No LGBTQ+ Republicans have been in Congress since Arizona Representative Jim Kolbe left office in 2007.
Santos said his candidacy is evidence that the Republican Party welcomes LGBTQ+ people.
“The reality is that the GOP is a big party, just like the Democrats claim to be,” he said.
Charles Moran, chairman of the organization Log Cabin Republicans, which represents the party’s LGBTQ+ members and allies, said it is a sign of progress that the historic race is taking place in a predominantly suburban district.
“This is not a heavily urban district with a traditional LGBT core like you would find in San Francisco or Los Angeles or Manhattan,” he said.
(Information from openly🇧🇷 edited by Sonia Elks and Hugo Greenhalgh)
Source: CNN Brasil
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