WASHINGTON — A new study by the LGBTQ+ Victory Institute found that queer politicians across the United States faced increased intimidation, harassment and political violence between 2023 and 2025, according to an article by Christopher Wiggins published in The Advocate.
The report, titled “Threats on the Trail: Experiences With Political Violence Among LGBTQ+ Candidates in the USA,” gathered information from 215 LGBTQ+ candidates from across the country, according to the article.
“The threats arrive in direct messages, voicemail inboxes, comment sections, and late-night emails,” Wiggins wrote. “Sometimes they follow candidates home.”
Nearly two-thirds of respondents to the study reported in-person harassment during campaigns, and just under eight in 10 experienced similar threats online, the article states.
Evan Low, who served as the nation’s youngest openly queer mayor in Campbell, California, experienced similar intimidation, Wiggins reported.
“Unfortunately, it’s not just about simply the individual harassment, but whether or not LGBT people can safely participate in our American democracy,” Low told The Advocate in an interview. “If members of our community don’t feel safe, how do we participate in American democracy?”
Almost nine out of 10 candidates reported that running as a queer candidate would “increase their risk of harassment or attack,” and four out of five candidates feared physical violence, according to the article.
“One LGBTQ+ candidate reported that a neighbor shot at their house after they advocated for transgender rights,” Wiggins wrote. “Another described being shoved off a porch while canvassing. Others said strangers photographed their homes, stalked their families online, or threatened sexual violence against their children.”
The article states that the widespread threats of political violence have left LGBTQ+ candidates scrambling to protect themselves and their families both on and off the campaign trail, posing a serious threat to their ability to run for office.
“Candidates described altering campaign schedules, avoiding public appearances, limiting social media activity, and withholding canvassing locations out of fear that harassment could escalate into physical attacks,” Wiggins wrote, referring to the report’s interview subjects.
According to the article, LGBTQ+ candidates are now altering where they campaign to avoid intimidation, steering clear of Republican-leaning districts that could otherwise be crucial to their political success.
Transgender candidates face particularly acute bullying and threats of harm, causing them to experience hypervigilance and chronic stress while “still trying to appear publicly composed” during their campaigns, Wiggins wrote.
“It is hard to be the best candidate you can be when you are dealing with threats and bullying,” one candidate said in the report, according to the article.
The LGBTQ+ Victory Institute has increasingly viewed the political violence directed toward queer candidates as a mental health crisis, viewing candidate safety as “part of a democratic infrastructure rather than optional support services,” the article states.
“Political violence is no longer just a safety issue,” Wiggins wrote. “It is becoming a structural barrier to representation.”
According to the article, LGBTQ+ candidates in the current political climate require specialized campaign training, security planning and mental health support to combat pervasive harassment. However, fewer than one in 10 respondents said they could afford such accommodations.
“Some described installing cameras and home surveillance systems instead,” Wiggins wrote. “Others said they abandoned security discussions because campaigns lacked the money.”
Low expressed support for funding security measures for LGBTQ+ candidates, stating that donors must consider candidate safety and protection when planning campaign expenses.
“Our opposition has given the license to discriminate, license to attack, license to be emboldened by utilizing hate speech, by demonizing who we are,” Low said. “Where there are laws on the books that criminalize our existence, then the next step naturally is the demonization of our very livelihoods and our existence.”
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It seems like almost all candidates and people in office are facing increasing threats regardless of their sexual or gender preferences. Take Trump for example…
Let’s see the evidence. She wrote an entire article with evidence and sources.
You get to spew out crap without any backing and then pat yourself on the back for being so HAW HAW HAW hilarious.
(Spoiler: He’s not.)
Those who don’t enter the arena and yet fling poop from the stands are the most pitiable creatures on earth. If they weren’t so laughable.
And don’t post any AI drivel. It won’t be read.
“And don’t post any AI drivel. It won’t be read.”
LOL, who are you kidding, you’re obsessed, you hang on my every comment.
😂 😂 😂
KS: “(Spoiler: He’s not.)”
I can’t speak for KO, but I believe he was referring to the three assassination attempts. Do those not count as political violence?
And although we are not privy to the number of threats, people now openly speak of assassinating the president on social media and YouTube. This is an entirely modern phenomenon. Fifty years ago a stray comment in public could earn you a visit from the Secret Service, as happened to my brother regarding Nixon :-|
I note that KO often brings up the point that something occurring on the left is also occurring on the right, or vice versa, and is then criticized as if he is de-legitimizing the initial point. I do not see that he is doing that. I condemn political violence and am concerned about the rising legitimization and normalization of such.
You’re being disingenous, but whatever.
Yes. Those do.
I was more taking aim at his broad (and incorrect) generalization that *all* candidates are experiencing similar levels of this.
That is blatantly not true. Women, politicians of color, and LGBTQ+ politicians are taking the brunt.
Of course when someone suggests that a woman or a Black or brown person is being mistreated, people like KO and you have to come along and correct us and point out how it’s really everyone, right?
Which is why I rarely respond. Neither of you typically engage in good faith. And none of your antics are funny.
Besides: the *fact* of the matter is that the bulk of political violence has *always* substantially come from the right wing. There is really no comparison with body counts.
But “both sides” they will continue to squawk and pule.
Oh, you clutch your perarls about this “normalization?” Where is your outrage about everything ugly that is being normalized by Trump and his moron MAGA brigade?
That’s where the real outrage should go. This country will take generations to recover but people like you “both sides” everything.
“Neither of you typically engage in good faith.”
That’s hilarious coming from you. 🤣
I don’t think she’s wrong.