Mondaire Jones, one of the first gay Black men in Congress, trails in House race
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Mondaire Jones, one of the first gay Black men in Congress, trails in House race
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Mondaire Jones, one of the first gay Black men in Congress, trails in House race
Rep. Mondaire Jones, who made history in 2020 as one of the first gay Black men to serve in Congress, has seen his hopes for re-election fade as he trails two rivals in his crowded New York House primary.
Jones, a Democrat, has served the 17th Congressional District, but Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, another out congressman, who currently serves New York’s 18th District, announced in July that he would run in the 17th District due to redistricting. Rather than challenge Maloney or Democratic incumbent Rep. Jamaal Bowman in the 16th District, Jones moved to Brooklyn and chose to run in the 10th District.
The race was too close to call Thursday morning, but, with 98% of votes in, Dan Goldman, who served as House Democrats’ counsel during the 2019 impeachment inquiry into then-President Donald Trump, was ahead with 25.7% of the vote and State Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou was close behind with 23.7% of the vote. Jones was in third place with 18.2% of the vote.
Jones has not yet issued a statement and did not return requests for comment.
In 2020, Jones and Democrat Ritchie Torres, who won the race for New York’s 15th Congressional District that year, became the first openly LGBTQ Black members of Congress.
“To grow up Black and gay is to not see yourself anywhere,” Jones told The Washington Post last year. “That’s why representation matters — if I had seen an openly gay Black person in the halls of Congress when I was growing up, it would have been living proof that things really do get better.”
During his time in Congress, Jones served as co-chair of the LGBTQ Equality Caucus. He also served on the House judiciary, ethics, and education and labor committees, according to his campaign website.
On Tuesday, Jones celebrated President Joe Biden’s announcement that he would cancel $10,000 in federal loans for anyone making less than $125,000. Jones said on Twitter that he helped lead the effort to pressure the president to follow through on the campaign promise and that he is grateful that Biden is “heeding our call to provide relief to millions of Americans who deserve fairness in an economy that leaves too many young people behind.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement Wednesday in response to the 10th District race that Jones “is a respected progressive voice on Capitol Hill and a relentless fighter for working families.”
“House Democrats are grateful to Congressman Jones for his leadership, which is leaving a principled legacy during his short period of time in Congress,” she said. She added that Jones is a “leader among his colleagues” and was unanimously elected freshman representative to leadership.
Annise Parker, president and CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Fund, a political action committee dedicated to increasing the number of openly LGBTQ public officials, said the result of Jones’ primary race “is deeply sad for the LGBTQ community.”
“We’ve lost a fierce advocate and LGBTQ pioneer in Congress who used every ounce of his political power to fight for a more equitable and fair America,” Parker said in a statement, according to a news release. “We look forward to supporting Mondaire’s continued work in Congress this year as well as his future advocacy. It’s abundantly clear to all who know him that his call to public service is a lifelong endeavor. We look forward to our continued partnership and friendship.”
There are currently nine out LGBTQ members of the U.S. House, including Jones, and two in the Senate — all of them Democrats, according to the LGBTQ Victory Fund.
The number of LGBTQ elected officials grew by nearly 6% last year, according to a recent report from the LGBTQ Victory Institute, a nonprofit organization that provides training to LGBTQ people who want to run for office.
Despite that growth, LGBTQ elected officials at all levels of government make up just 0.2% of the elected officials. In order to achieve equitable representation, voters would need to elect 35,854 more LGBTQ people, according to the Victory Institute.
However, there are at least 101 LGBTQ people who ran or are running for Congress in 2022 — more than in any other election cycle in history, the institute’s report found.
Some of the candidates would make history if they are elected. Vermont state Sen. Becca Balint, for example, won the Democratic primary earlier this month for the state’s only seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. She is favored to win the general election, and if elected, she would be the first out LGBTQ person and the first woman elected to Congress from Vermont.
Candidate Leigh Finke of Minnesota won her Democratic primary for the state House this month. If elected, she would be the first out transgender person in the Minnesota Legislature.
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