LGBTQ+ rights are in jeopardy with this year’s Senate elections

Roman Kavanagh

Opinions Editor

The New York Times is currently tracking the seven closest races for Senate in Arizona, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. According to their reports, there are two key states which could tilt the scales and effectively end the Democrat’s majority control: Michigan and Ohio.

Michigan is among the traditional “swing states,” divided among Democrat, Republican and Centrist voters. Ohio, on the other hand, is an unusual “tossup” state, as since 2020 it has been thought to be solidified as a Republican state.

In Michigan, fresh blood has entered the race. Following the upcoming retirement of Incumbent Sen. Debbie Stabenow (current Michigan Senator), Michigan is facing the first open Senate race for this position since 1994. Former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers is facing off against Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkins.

Image Credits to NYT

In Ohio, Incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown faces Republican challenger Bernie Moreno. Moreno has been endorsed by Donald Trump and JD Vance, gaining unexpected popularity as a result. The Incumbent may lose this particular race.

How this impacts LGBTQ+ rights:

In 2024, 658 anti-trans bills were circulated across the U.S. (with 274 carrying over from 2023). Out of these 658, 80 have been introduced on a federal level.

Presently, Republicans control the House of Representatives with a slim majority. If the Senate falls to the Conservatives as well, the likelihood of these nationwide anti-trans bills passing would skyrocket.

These bills include everything from healthcare, sports, education and even civil rights. You can read the individual bills on translegislation.com, by utilizing their “2024 anti-trans bills tracker.”