Florida Voters Deliver Wins for LGBTQ+ Candidates and Losses for Moms for Liberty

This story originally appeared on The Advocate.Florida voters advanced several out candidates on Tuesday and, perhaps just as importantly, handed losses to candidates aligned with the once-dominant Moms for Liberty.Equality Florida cheered after 81 percent of the candidates it endorsed won their races Tuesday. Those winners included five out LGBTQ+ Democrats seeking seats in the Florida House: Jane Aman, Felipe Sousa Lazaballet, Samuel Vilchez Santiago, Luis Salazar and Todd Delmay. The group’s political arm also celebrated key wins in nonpartisan school board races.“Last night, Florida voters roared. Moms for Liberty is in free fall. Communities are fighting back against book bans, curriculum censorship, and the whitewashing of history. Voters, from the U.S. Senate and Governor’s races to school boards and state legislative contests, chose pro-equality champions. And we are primed to shatter the conservative supermajorities in the legislature in November,” said Joe Saunders, executive director of Equality Florida Action PAC.Related: Moms for Liberty Co-Founder to Address Sexual Hypocrisy Scandal at Florida School Board Meeting“Make no mistake: the pendulum is swinging in the Sunshine State back toward freedom, equality, and dignity for all. Florida is and always will be worth fighting for. Now it’s time to carry this momentum forward to November and write a better, freer chapter in our state’s history.”Moms for Liberty, however, also touted its own victories and said it’s not done influencing the state yet. In fact, 11 of the 15 candidates formally endorsed by Moms for Liberty won or advanced to runoffs."Every couple of years someone in the media writes our obituary, and every couple of years parents show up and prove them wrong," said Tina Descovich, CEO and co-founder of Moms for Liberty. "Eleven of our fifteen endorsed candidates won or advanced last night. Three of three in Brevard. All three in Clay County. These are moms and dads and neighbo