(Photo by Douglas Rissing via Getty Images)
Political action committees focused on LGBTQ+ issues have already spent big in the 2026 election cycle. They have doled out hundreds of thousands of dollars to support congressional candidates who identify as sexual or gender minorities, as they seek to both defend and expand representation.
Ten LGBTQ+-focused PACs contributed a combined $637,849 to congressional candidates so far in the 2025-26 cycle (through March 31), supporting incumbent lawmakers, candidates pursuing historic firsts and contenders in open-seat and other competitive races. The top five PACs gave $593,041, or 93%, of that total.
(The chart coded below can be seen on the story page, linked in the title above, or at the end of the article.)
(function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-height`])for(var r=0,i;i=t[r];r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data[`datawrapper-height`][n]+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})();
Equality PAC, the political arm of the Congressional Equality Caucus, is responsible for 29% of the contributions to candidates from LGBTQ+ PACs ($185,000). It works to elect openly LGBTQ candidates and allies committed to passing the Equality Act, which would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in areas including housing, employment and lending.
The Human Rights Campaign, which describes itself as the nation’s largest civil rights and LGBTQ lobbying organization, gave $141,541 to many of the same candidates and accounts for 22% of this total. Equality Project PAC, which has also been associated with the Equality Caucus, has contributed $115,000 (18%). No Vote Left Behind PAC, which describes its mission as developing and funding voter registration and get-out-the-vote programs targeted to the LGBTQ community in battleground states, contributed $84,000. Christopher Street Project, which focuses on electing candidates committed to advancing trans rights, contributed $67,000.
Equality PAC leaders are also its recipients
Reps. Becca Balint (D-Texas) and Julie Johnson (D-Texas) serve as the PAC’s vice chairs and have received $7,500 and $5,000 from the PAC, respectively. Two co-chairs, Reps. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) and Mark Takano (D-Calif.) each received $10,000 from the committee.
Balint is the first woman and openly LGBTQ+ person to represent Vermont in Congress and has supported numerous pieces of legislation that protect LGBTQ+ Americans and their access to healthcare. In 2025, she introduced the Transgender Health Care Access Act, which would fund programs to train medical providers in providing gender affirming care.
Balint has received a total of $22,000 from LGBTQ+ PACs, including the $7,500 from Equality PAC, $5,000 from No Vote Left Behind PAC and $4,500 from Equality Project PAC. She also received $2,500 from both the Christopher Street Project and the Human Rights Campaign.
Johnson, who was running for reelection in Texas’ 33rd district, received over $40,000 in donations from various LGBTQ+ PACs, the most of any candidate, yet lost in the Democratic primary runoff on May 26.
In a statement about Johnson’s loss, Equality PAC said, “Texas – and likely the entire South – will lose openly LGBTQ representation in Congress. Many in our community remain deeply hurt by Colin Allred’s decision to challenge one of our own. As he moves forward, he bears a responsibility to help heal those divisions and rebuild trust with the communities impacted by this race.”
Torres, who represents New York’s 15th district, became the first openly LGBTQ+ Afro-Latino person elected to Congress after he defeated Patrick Delices in the 2020 election, receiving 88.7% of the vote compared to Delices’ 11.1%.
In 2023, he was selected to serve as a co-chair of the Equality PAC. “Congressman Torres is one of Equality PAC’s greatest and proudest success stories. We all know that representation matters – and that is why Equality PAC was the first major national organization to endorse his congressional campaign in 2019,” said fellow co-chair Takano. “As the first LGBTQ Afro-Latino ever elected to Congress, Congressman Torres is a living example of Equality’s PAC mission to make Congress look like America — and that includes LGBTQ America.”
This cycle, Torres received $10,000 from both Equality PAC and Equality Project PAC. He also received $10,000 from No Vote Left Behind PAC and another $2,500 from the Human Rights Campaign.
In 2012, Takano became the first openly LGBTQ+ person of color elected to Congress. Takano serves as the chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus and is the lead sponsor of the Equality Act, the caucus’s flagship bill.
PACs focused on gay and lesbian rights donated $35,000 to Takano, who represents California’s 41st district. Contributions from Equality PAC, Equality Project PAC and No Vote Left Behind PAC compose a majority of this, with each organization donating $10,000 to Takano’s campaign.
Takano also received $2,500 from the Christopher Street Project and $2,500 from the Human Rights Campaign.
Equality PAC prioritizes additional LGBTQ+ history-making candidates
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) is the first openly LGBTQ+ immigrant elected to Congress and has championed legislation promoting global gender and sexual equality, such as the International Human Rights Defense Act.
Garcia, who represents the Golden State’s 42nd district, has received $22,000 from PACs focused on LGBTQ+ issues so far this cycle. Equality PAC, the political arm of the Congressional Equality Caucus (of which he is a co-chair) contributed $7,500 to Garcia’s campaign.
Equality PAC has maintained its support for Garcia since 2024, having donated $7,500 to his campaign that cycle.
Rep. Emily Randall (D-Wash.) is the first openly LGBTQ+ Latina to serve in Congress and is the first woman to represent the state’s 6th district. Randall has championed the reintroduction of the Equality Act, which ensures nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ+ Americans, and national LGBTQ+ organizations have continued to support her as she seeks reelection.
Randall, who will not face any challengers in the Aug. 4 primary, has received $11,500 from LGBTQ+-focused PACs this cycle. She received $5,000 from Equality PAC, as well as $3,500 from Human Rights Campaign and $3,000 from Equality Project PAC.
Equality PAC first endorsed Randall’s run for Congress in 2023, stating that she has “worked tirelessly” in the State Senate to make Washington one of the most inclusive and accepting places for LGBTQ Americans.
Marni von Wilpert, an LGBTQ+ member of the San Diego City Council and a former civil rights attorney, is running for California’s 48th district. She has raised $1.2 million so far, with $32,500 coming from LGBTQ+ PAC contributions.
Equality PAC donated $10,000 to von Wilpert’s campaign and stated in its endorsement that she “represents one of our best chances to elect a new LGBTQ woman to Congress this year.” Wilpert also received $10,000 from both Equality Project PAC and No Vote Left Behind.
Von Wilpert has also been added to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s Red to Blue program, which provides Democratic candidates in particularly competitive races with organizational and fundraising support.
Rep. Chris Pappas (D) became New Hampshire’s first openly gay member of Congress when he was elected in 2018 to represent the 1st district. Now, as he runs for Senate, Pappas has become a focus for LGBTQ+ PACs looking to support increased representation in a chamber that has had very few openly LGBTQ+ members in its history.
If elected, Pappas would become the first openly gay man elected to the Senate, making the race particularly significant for PACs seeking to expand representation.
In its endorsement of Pappas, Equality PAC said New Hampshire “needs a fighter in the Senate who will put the Granite Staters first, and Chris Pappas has proven time and time again that he is that leader.”
LGBTQ+-focused PACs have contributed $11,050 to Pappas in 2025-26, including funding from LGBTQ Victory Fund, the Human Rights Campaign, No Vote Left Behind PAC and Equality Project PAC.
This article was originally published by OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that tracks money in politics. View the original article.
