Equality Florida Action, Inc. Endorses First Wave of Pro-Equality Congressional Candidates
The slate of candidates will fight for LGBTQ people, push back against an out of control White House, and help build a Florida where equality—not extremism—wins
St. Petersburg, Fla. — Florida’s LGBTQ communities have been fighting for our freedom, our families, and our future for decades. In recent years, the right wing tested and perfected the anti-LGBTQ attacks in Florida that then became a cornerstone of the nation’s Project 2025 nightmare. Many of the assaults on healthcare, education, inclusive workplaces, and the freedom for transgender people to live full and open lives were cooked up in the Sunshine State before being exported across the country by the Trump Administration.
This is why pro-equality champions from Florida are best positioned to take the fight to Washington and help write a different, freer next chapter in American history. Today, Equality Florida Action Inc. announced its first wave of endorsements for the U.S. House of Representatives, backing candidates who represent the kind of leadership Florida needs in Congress: leaders who will stand up for LGBTQ+ people, defend democracy, protect families and reject the politics of division and discrimination; leaders who will fight for freedom and equality for all Floridians.
“The country is sick and tired of the politics of division and chaos – and hungry for leaders who will stand up and fight for what’s right. Today, we are endorsing candidates who take extremism head on,” said Stratton Pollitzer, Executive Director of Equality Florida Action, Inc.
“For years, the right wing has pitted neighbor against neighbor, using LGBTQ lives as a scare tactic, while costs soar, corruption runs rampant, and the American dream slips further away from too many. Enough. The pendulum is swinging back toward freedom and equality, and it’s our job to build a better future for all of us. That starts by showing up for these pro-equality candidates who have the fight it takes to win. We are ready to answer the failed right wing agenda of chaos and hate with one of our own: a freer, more equal America where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.”
The endorsements include six Democratic incumbents with a history of supporting equality, as well as five viable, pro-equality challengers for seats that can help determine the balance of power in Washington. Together, they represent an important first wave in Equality Florida Action Inc.’s broader effort to retake a pro-equality majority in Congress.
The Endorsed Candidates for U.S. House are:
- District 5: Rachel Grage
- District 8: Jennifer Jenkins
- District 9: U.S. Rep. Darren Soto (i)
- District 10: U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost (i – elected without opposition)
- District 12: Kimberly Overman
- District 14: U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (i)
- District 20: U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (i)
- District 22: Pia Dandiya
- District 23: U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel (i)
- District 25: U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (i)
- District 27: Eliott Rodriguez
The right-wing agenda launched in Florida has been the model for what has become a national crisis: dividing the nation, stripping away our freedoms, and making attacks on LGBTQ people a Trojan horse for an assault on democracy itself. But Floridians are swinging the pendulum back, organizing, mobilizing, and electing pro-equality champions up and down the ballot.
“Florida doesn’t need more politicians who are willing to sacrifice our communities for political points. We need leaders who will stand up and fight. These candidates understand that LGBTQ+ Floridians are not a political wedge issue—we are families, workers, students, neighbors and voters who deserve the same freedom, dignity and opportunity as everyone else,” said Pollitzer.
Congress will play a crucial role in defining the waning years of the disastrous Trump Administration. A pro-equality majority can defend federal civil rights protections, protect LGBTQ families and young people, safeguard access to public institutions, hold cruel and corrupt public officials to account, and use their power to thwart efforts to roll back hard-won equality.
These endorsements represent the first wave of Equality Florida Action, Inc congressional endorsements for 2026, with additional endorsements to come. Find Equality Florida Action, Inc.’s ongoing endorsement list here.
Paid for by Equality Florida Action, Inc., www.eqfl.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.
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