The number of elected Latinos who openly identify as LGBTQ+ has more than tripled since 2017, outpacing the growth of all other LGBTQ+ candidates nationwide. Latinos are one of the nation’s fastest-growing voting demographics. The rise of LGBTQ+ Latino elected officials—as tracked by the LGBTQ+ Victory Institute—illustrates Hispanics’ evolving diversity.
The Institute, an organization that trains future leaders, tells there were 165 openly LGBTQ+ Latino elected officials in 2023 in federal, state and local offices. That’s a 224% increase from 2017, the organization says.The number of overall officeholders who identify as LGBTQ+ has increased by 68%, press secretary Albert Fujii said. Latino LGBTQ+ officials represent around 14% of all LGBTQ+ elected officials.
U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), the first openly gay Afro Latino elected to Congress, is among those to win office in this six-year growth span. Others who have made history include Minnesota state Rep. Alicia Kozlowski, the first non-binary person ever elected to that state’s legislature, and Chicago City Councilmember Jessie Fuentes, who is a queer Latina.”Whether it was going to school and being one of the few Latinos there, or being one of the few gay kids, I think that has exposed me to the importance of representation,” Maryland state Delegate Joe Vogel (D) said.
Vogel’s family is from Uruguay and is also Jewish, so those multiple identities have taught him the importance of storytelling to teach empathy, he says. “It’s no coincidence that I bring these different identities with me to work as a legislator, and I also was the leader on legislation to address the surge in hate crimes in our state.”
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