Human Rights Campaign rolls out congressional endorsements on Equality Act anniversary

The Human Rights Campaign rolled out its latest House and Senate endorsements on Monday in a list released exclusively to The Hill, marking the one-year anniversary of the passage of the Equality Act in the House.

“These are candidates who have supported the Equality Act or will support the Equality Act,” the group’s president, Alphonso David, told The Hill. “Here, it’s very important for us to send a loud and a clear message that the Equality Act is critical for us to pass next year, and we need to make sure that we have a Congress and Senate to make sure we get it passed.” 

In the Senate, the group endorsed Kansas State Sen. Barbara Bollier (D) and former North Carolina State Sen. Cal Cunningham (D) in their U.S. Senate races, as well as incumbent Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.). 

Cunningham is challenging Sen. Tom Tillis (R-N.C.) in that state’s race, which the Cook Political Report — an independent, nonpartisan group — rates a “toss-up.”

Bollier is favored to win Kansas’s Democratic primary and would take on the eventual winner of the GOP primary in what Cook rates as a “lean Republican” race.

In the House, the group has endorsed a number of Democratic lawmakers facing uphill reelection bids, including Reps. Abby Finkenauer (Iowa) and Joe Cunningham (S.C.), and Virginia Reps. Elaine Luria and Abigail Spanberger. The Cook Political Report rates all of those races as toss-ups.

The Human Rights Campaign has previously endorsed a number of other House and Senate candidates, as well as former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. 

The group is homing in on a number of key battleground states, including Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Texas. 

Additionally, the group plans to rally its 57 million “Equality Voters,” or voters who prioritize LGBTQ+ issues at the ballot box, in a number of its identified swing states and districts. 

“We believe that these voters are the keys not only to this election but to the elections of the future,” David said. 

The latest endorsements come one day after the one-year anniversary of the passage of the Equality Act in the House, which has yet to pass through the Senate.

The legislation would expand the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination in employment, housing, jury selection or public accommodations based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has yet to hold a vote on the legislation, despite calls from Democratic leaders for him to do so.

The bill would likely face opposition in the Republican-controlled Senate due to conservative concerns about infringement of religious liberty.

The full list of House endorsements includes Democratic Reps. Tom O’Halleran (Ariz.), Josh Harder (Calif.), TJ Cox (Calif.), Gil Cisneros (Calif.), Mark Takano (Calif.), Katie Porter (Calif.), Harley Rouda (Calif.), Mike Levin (Calif.), Jason Crow (Colo.), Jahana Hayes (Conn.), Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (Fla.), Finkenauer, Cindy Axne (Iowa), Sean Casten (Ill.), Lauren Underwood (Ill.), Sharice Davids (Kan.), Jared Golden (Maine), Elissa Slotkin (Mich.), Haley Stevens (Mich.), Chris Pappas (N.H.), Andy Kim (N.J.), Josh Gottheimer (N.J.), Tom Malinowski (N.J.), Mikie Sherrill (N.J.), Xochitl Torres Small (N.M.), Max Rose (N.Y.), Sean Patrick Maloney (N.Y.), Antonio Delgado (N.Y.), Anthony Brindisi (N.Y.), Kendra Horn (Okla.), Susan Wild (Pa.), Matt Cartwright (Pa.), Conor Lamb (Pa.), David Cicilline (R.I.), Cunningham, Ben McAdams (Utah), Luria, Spanberger, Kim Schrier (Wash.) and Mark Pocan (Wis.).