Rainbow Wave 2026: See all the LGBTQ+ midterm election winners

It was not just a blue wave at the ballot box, but a rainbow wave that voters chose on Tuesday. Here's a look at all of the out queer winners decided in the 2026 midterm election. Chris Pappas (D) - U.S. Senate - New HampshireChris Pappas is the first out gay man elected to the U.S. Senate. New Hampshire voters overwhelmingly chose the Democrat congressman over Republican former Sen. John Sununu. With votes still being counted, Pappas led Sununu 60 percent to 37 percent at press time. Read the full story here.Sarah McBride (D) - U.S. House - DelawareDelaware voters sent trailblazing transgender Congresswoman Sarah McBride back to the U.S. Congress Tuesday. The nation's first out transgender federal lawmaker handily won reelection as the lone member of Congress from the First State. During her first term, House Republicans targeted the Democrat's access to women's bathrooms in the Capitol before she could cast her first vote. McBride handily defeated Republican Joseph Arminio.Read the full story here.Bentley Hudgins (D) - Georgia AssemblyBentley Hudgins won a seat in the Georgia Assembly as the the state's first out transgender and nonbinary state lawmaker. The longtime Democratic organizer made history in the Deep South by defeating Republican Samantha Boston in House District 90. Read the full story here.Sharice Davids (D) - U.S. House - KansasRep. Sharice Davids of Kansas won reelection to Congress, preserving her historic representation of the Sunflower State. The lesbian Democrat and Ho-Chunk Nation citizen defeated Republican Eric Jenkins, securing a fifth term in Congress after a campaign that highlighted competing visions for LGBTQ+ rights. Davids is one of the first two Native American women elected to the U.S. House and was the first out LGBTQ+ person elected to Congress from Kansas.Read the full story here.Ritchie Torres (D) - U.S. House - New YorkRep. Ritchie Torres, the first out gay Afro-Latino member of Congress, won a fourth term representing New York