Though LGBTQ people hold different beliefs and values within the community, Anita Carson, director of field and community organizing at Equality Florida, said she noticed a strong sense of unity this election.
“I love having conversations with LGBTQ people that don't share the same political bias that I do, because we still come to a core understanding of who we are as people,” Carson said. “Being able to say, ‘I understand that you hold this one aspect differently than I do, but together, we both understand that safety for our community is valuable and incredibly important.’”
Carson’s observation was reflected in a recent NBC News exit poll. Vice President Kamala Harris gained 86% of the national LGBTQ vote, compared to President-elect Donald Trump’s 12%. This is a 15-point increase compared to the 2020 election, when Trump collected 27% of the queer vote over President Joe Biden.
Even with this strong engagement, Florida remained a red state last week, contributing its 30 electoral votes to join the country in electing Trump to The White House again.
Equality Florida is a civil rights organization that aims to achieve equality for the state’s LGBTQ community and eliminate discrimination and harassment. Carson said the org turned out in full force to support progressive candidates and amendments, such as Harris and Florida’s abortion rights ballot measure.
The organization reached more people than ever: it secured 1,300 volunteers, made 80,000 calls to voters and knocked on 8,500 doors. Equality Florida also sent 200,000 texts and donated $250,000 solely for the “Yes on 4” campaign. Carson said they achieved this through the organized effort of 10 staffers.
To reach these numbers and still have a “red wave” sweep the state and country was disappointing for the team.
However, after taking a brief rest, Carson said the group is ready to keep fighting and reflect on what they can do next time. One solution Carson noted was to get local orgs to start outreach earlier, rather than waiting until the heat of election season.
While the results are frightening for some in the community, Carson said this election didn’t determine whether or not the org would be motivated to keep working. Instead, it was a way to gauge where they could help next.
“The fight for us didn't start this election season, so we know it doesn't stop this election season,” Carson said.
