Tuesday, July 9, 2019

Victory Fund Endorses Colorado's Dan Baer for U.S. Senate; Would Be First Openly Gay Man Elected to the U.S. Senate

Yesterday, LGBTQ Victory Fund, the only national organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ leaders to public office, endorsed Dan Baer for U.S. Senate. Baer, who is running for the seat in Colorado, would become the first openly gay man elected to the U.S. Senate and just the third openly LGBTQ person to serve in the chamber. The endorsement comes a week after his campaign announced a record-breaking $1.35 million fundraising haul in the second quarter – the largest ever initial fundraising report for an openly LGBTQ Congressional candidate. Victory Fund expects an unprecedented number of LGBTQ Congressional candidates to run in 2020.

“Coloradans led the country by electing America’s first openly gay governor in 2018 – and in 2020 they will make history again in sending the first out gay man to the U.S. Senate,” said Mayor Annise Parker, President & CEO of LGBTQ Victory Fund. “Never before has an openly LGBTQ Congressional candidate reported such strong initial fundraising numbers – an important indicator, given LGBTQ candidates for high-level office are often underestimated early in their campaigns. But Dan’s authentic and values-driven approach to politics is resonating with voters, and there is no better candidate to take on anti-LGBTQ incumbent Cory Gardner than a person so deeply affected by the discriminatory positions Gardner promotes.”

Baer is Victory Fund’s second federal endorsement for the 2020 election cycle, having endorsed Mayor Pete Buttigieg for President of the United States on June 28. In 2018, Victory Fund endorsees Tammy Baldwin and Kyrsten Sinema both won swing U.S. Senate seats in Wisconsin and Arizona, respectively. They are the only two openly LGBTQ people to ever serve in the U.S. Senate.

More information about the candidates is available at victoryfund.org/ourcandidates. Since 1991, Victory Fund has helped thousands of openly LGBTQ candidates win local, state and federal elections.