All over the country, anti-LGBTQ+ politicians aren’t just introducing hateful bills or ranting on cable news. They have won the election. Quietly. Consistently. Strategically.
They know that too many Democrats keep forgetting: If you want to change the culture, you start by acquiring a map.
And now the far right is doing just that. They have won school board races, legislative primary elections, and low-revolving special elections that barely make news. They use those wins to test their messages, build machines, and expand the base. They treat every election like a long-term strategy.
What are we doing accordingly? Frequently, we wait for the next presidential cycle. We spend a lot of time in some top races, but ignore contests building infrastructure for the future. Invest in unscalable arrangements or messaging unpersuadable. Worst of all, we behave as if each attack is isolated, rather than promoting a coordinated national strategy.
If we want to stop losing the ground, we must act like we know what time it is.
It’s not enough to justify the problem too much. It’s not enough to be furious. A loud voice is not enough. You need to organize. It needs to be strategic. And we need to win.
Voters in states like Virginia and New Jersey have the opportunity to show this this November. Both states have legislative elections, and both feature incumbents of Republicans, where extremism is awfully apart from the people they represent. In Virginia, Geary Higgins has built a career that attacked LGBTQ+ rights and promoted culture wars. In New Jersey, Jay Weber opposed equality and freedom of reproduction at the heart of his record. These are the exact kind of races where investing in democratic challengers and sending out a message can turn your seat upside down and prove that extremism is inevitable.
The 2025 election is a chance to prove that anti-LGBTQ extremism is unacceptable. They are the opportunity to show that when you engage with the right voters with the right message, you can win in places that no one thinks is impossible. in Agenda PACwe’re seeing this through our 50-50 campaign. There, we will identify and notify each state’s “most beatable biases.” The idea is simple. All voters, donors and activists can look up and know exactly who must be accountable. This is a tool to turn anger into plans, and quiet races are the opportunity to change the map.
They are their chance to put the far right in defense not only on the president’s battlefield, but also on suburban districts, small towns and on the school boards that have quietly won and left for many years.
There needs to be a political tactic that is lean, focused and not afraid to take an attitude. An operation that doesn’t chase headlines, but allows you to understand the value of choosing the right fight and winning. Campaigns that conduct deep research reveal the most vulnerable incumbents to their voters, and tell them the truth that they are too cautious for others to say.
Definitely: What we are seeing is a slow rollback of rights. There’s one challenging race happening at a time. One extremist politician at a time. Win one culture war at a time.
When you win in a place where no one expects, it does more than protect the people today. It changes what is possible tomorrow. It proves it LGBTQ Political power is not just about the waves of the nation and the support of celebrities. It shows that power comes from strategy rather than from sight.
This is the kind of infrastructure we need right now. It’s not next year, not someday. Local races that build statewide strength. The race of the state that will change the outcome of the nation. The movement treats all elections as a chance to push back and treats all victory as the building blocks of the next battle.
Because while waiting for the next “big race”, the far right has already moved. And if we’re not fighting back on purpose, accuracy, urgency, we’re making them win. The good news is that blueprints already exist. By focusing on beatable extremists like Higgins and Weber in Virginia, New Jersey, and giving voters a simple way to engage through 50-50, we can prove that strategy is possible when it replaces wishful thinking.
Brian Sims A former Pennsylvania representative and CEO of Agenda PAC, he works to select politicians who defend and advocate for LGBTQ+ rights.
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