With her state Senate candidacy the best chance to see the first transgender legislator be elected in California, Palm Springs City Councilmember Lisa Middleton is benefitting from the financial largesse of a statewide LGBTQ political action committee. This year alone, it has funneled nearly $50,000 toward seeing her break through the Golden State pink political ceiling.
Middleton is not the only out legislative candidate on the November 5 ballot benefitting from the funds raised by the Equality California PAC, the political arm of the statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization. Half a dozen candidates running for Southern California Assembly or Senate seats have also been the beneficiaries of the EQCA PAC's political giving this year.
But it has spent the most money, by far, in 2024 on electing Middleton. Between a maximum donation of $5,500 directly to her campaign account and $40,000 directed toward an independent committee working on her behalf, the EQCA PAC has allocated $45,500 since February toward electing the former San Francisco resident to the state Legislature.
"This is an opportunity to break a rainbow ceiling in Sacramento and elect the first out trans member of the California Legislature," noted EQCA Managing Director of External Affairs Tom Temprano, a gay San Francisco resident. "We have had the privilege of working with Lisa for years and have seen the work she has been able to do at a local level and a regional level to deliver results for the people of Palm Springs, but also the broader Riverside County through her serving on a lot of regional bodies."
Thus, noted Temprano, "She is exactly the legislator Equality California goes all in on to support and send to Sacramento."
The EQCA PAC is sponsoring the Communities United for Lisa Middleton For Senate 2024 independent expenditure committee on her behalf. A coalition of progressive groups funding it expect to raise at least $300,000 for it; the LGBTQ Caucus Leadership Fund, the political arm of the affinity group for out legislators in Sacramento, just last week funneled $125,000 into it. Labor unions have given it $125,000 to date.
Asked by the Bay Area Reporter about the support she is receiving via the EQCA PAC, Middleton expressed her gratitude.
"I'm incredibly grateful for the generous support we've received from the LGBTQ+ community, Planned Parenthood, labor unions, small business owners, and grassroots donors across Riverside and San Bernardino counties," stated Middleton. "They all know what's at stake in this election, for reproductive freedom, for LGBTQ+ equality, for workers' rights, for our planet, and for democracy."
Middleton is in a tough race for the 19th Senate District seat spanning Riverside and San Bernardino counties. She is running against Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R-Yucaipa), who placed first with 53.8% of the vote in their March 5 primary matchup.
With Ochoa Bogh declining to participate in its endorsement process, the Desert Sun newspaper Wednesday endorsed Middleton. Its editorial board noted Middleton "has the right attitude and demeanor for the job" of being a state Senator.
Other candidates receive EQCA PAC funds
With mere weeks away from Election Day, the B.A.R. reviewed the EQCA PAC's donations over the last 10 months to see which of its endorsed LGBTQ legislative candidates it considers to be in tight general election contests. Unsurprisingly, its second top benefactor has been Middleton's colleague Palm Springs City Councilmember Christy Holstege, who is seeking the Assembly District 47 seat.
The bisexual lawmaker received $6,500 directly in her campaign account from the EQCA PAC, $1,000 of which came ahead of her primary race against Assemblymember Greg Wallis (R-Bermuda Dunes), whom she narrowly lost to in 2022. Last week, the EQCA PAC put $15,000 into an independent committee backing Holstege's bid.
The fund's third highest amount has gone toward electing gay former Los Angeles County Democratic Party chair Mark Gonzalez to the open Assembly District 54 seat. He placed first in his primary against fellow Democrat John K. Yi.
The EQCA PAC gave Gonzalez's campaign $5,500 over the summer and this month put $15,000 into an independent committee working to elect him.
In another open race in Los Angeles County, the EQCA PAC in June gave a maximum donation to Sade Elhawary, who is running for the Assembly District 57 seat. She came in second place by several hundred votes in the primary behind fellow Democrat Efren Martinez.
Elhawary prefers the term fluid over bisexual when it comes to her sexual orientation. If elected, she would be one of the first Black Latinas to serve in the Legislature.
This year, the EQCA PAC has also contributed to independent committees working to elect the Cervantes sisters as the first pair of out siblings to serve together in Sacramento. It gave $5,000 in February toward ensuring lesbian Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes (D-Corona), a married mom, survived her primary for the open Senate District 31 seat and would face Republican Cynthia Navarro on the fall ballot.
It also gave $6,000 in March to a committee working to elect Cervantes' younger sister Clarissa, who is queer and bisexual, as her successor in the 58th Assembly District. Also on the fall ballot for the seat in the Legislature's lower chamber is Republican Leticia Castillo. The EQCA PAC also has given $2,000 this year directly to Clarissa Cervantes' campaign committee.
Apart from the donations its federal PAC has made on behalf of gay Democratic congressional candidates attorney Will Rollins in the Coachella Valley and Assemblymember Evan Low (D-Cupertino) in the South Bay, EQCA's state-based PAC has given $2,500 each to gay Emeryville City Councilmember John Bauters' bid for the Alameda County Supervisor District 5 seat and queer tenants' rights lawyer Ysabel Jurado's bid for the Los Angeles City Council District 14 seat.
"We are investing in these races because we think each of them are close races and ones where we have an opportunity to make a real difference in the race," said Temprano. "Each of these are top priority races because of the caliber of the candidates we have and how close we anticipate these races being in November."
In the coming days, the EQCA PAC will be making its final donations and spending decisions ahead of when ballots need to be cast early next month.
"We are actually looking at record spending across the board for EQCA on our political work in this electoral cycle," Temprano told the B.A.R. "By the time the election happens, we will have invested $100,000 into direct candidate contributions for candidates running at the federal, state and local level."
The independent committees it is a part of, particularly those working to elect Middleton and Gonzalez, is releasing ads this month on digital platforms and connected TV, meaning streaming services, to convince voters to support them. It is spending six-figures each on the media buys for the pair of legislative candidates.
"We are really committed to making sure our endorsed candidates, particularly queer candidates, have the resources in their bank accounts to win in November," said Temprano.
Additionally, EQCA is reaching out to its own membership list to encourage them to vote for its endorsed candidates. It is mailing out its slate cards to households statewide with high propensity voters.
"Getting our endorsements out to them is a big priority," said Temprano. "We will also be doing direct text outreach to our members in a number of our priority races as well."
Web Extra: For more queer political news, be sure to check http://www.ebar.com Monday mornings for Political Notes, the notebook's online companion. This week's column reported on SF school board candidates' positions on keeping the Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy open.
Keep abreast of the latest LGBTQ political news by following the Political Notebook on Threads @ https://www.threads.net/@matthewbajko.
Got a tip on LGBTQ politics? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 829-8836 or email [email protected]
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