Arizona is one of the most closely watched Senate races in the U.S.

Washington, DC – Tonight Democratic primary voters in Arizona made U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema the first openly bisexual person to be nominated for U.S. Senate by a major American political party. The historic achievement was especially notable given Republican primary voters chose anti-LGBTQ candidate Martha McSally to face her in November. The race is of national significance because of its potential to be the deciding factor in whether Democrats take the U.S. Senate on Election Day.

“Arizona voters shattered a lavender ceiling in selecting Kyrsten Sinema as the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate – and it puts her on-track to be just the second openly LGBTQ U.S. Senator in American history,” said Mayor Annise Parker, President & CEO of LGBTQ Victory Fund. “This race is consequential not just for the Democratic party and for the LGBTQ community, but for all Americans who demand an end to the political divisiveness that Martha McSally embodies. An LGBTQ Senate candidate taking down an anti-LGBTQ opponent in a red state will be a defining moment in this year’s rainbow political wave – and will further the evolution in how Americans view LGBTQ people and candidates.

“McSally refuses to support a federal right to marriage equality, votes for ‘religious exemption’ laws designed to target LGBTQ people for discrimination, and opposes federal protections for transgender students. Ask her positions on the most basic of LGBTQ protections and she obfuscates, choosing politics over leadership and fairness. Meanwhile Kyrsten is the embodiment of the American dream – surviving homelessness to become a social worker, teacher and then a member of Congress – and is committed to improving lives for all Arizonans, not making them more difficult. We need Kyrsten not just because the LGBTQ community needs her, but because America needs her.”

LGBTQ Victory Fund works to change the face and voice of America’s politics and achieve equality for LGBTQ Americans by increasing the number of openly LGBTQ elected officials at all levels of government.