still waiting

Yes, we are still waiting, and as frustrating as this is, it is normal. It is not unexpected. Counting takes time. When will we know who has been elected President? Well there really is no answer to that. It could be today or it might be next week. And so, we wait.

We do know about a lot of the races from Tuesday. Many good things happened, chief among them was participation. Records numbers of people cast ballots this year, and that certainly is a good thing. Also, while the Blue wave many predicted didn't really materialize, there was a Rainbow wave of sorts.

Four transgender and nonbinary politicians won in state contests. Among them is Sarah McBride, who will be the highest-ranking trans legislator in the country, serving as Delaware’s first transgender state senator. New York State will be sending two Black gay men to the House of Representatives.

In Nevada, a ballot question that adds marriage equality to the state constitution (and also overturns an amendment voters approved in 2002 to ban same-sex marriage), passed by a wide margin. Regardless of what might happen in the US Supreme Court in the future, married gay couples in Nevada are secure in their marriages now.

San Diego voters elected Democratic state Assemblymember Todd Gloria as their first LGBTQ mayor. He is also the first person of color elected to lead that Southern California city. (Gloria briefly served as San Diego's interim mayor in 2013 and 2014).

There was a time of course when being LGBTQ would mean no votes (or certainly not enough to win), but that is no longer the case. Numerous officials were re-elected yesterday. Scott Wiener will continue in the California State Senate and Sam Park in the Georgia House of Representatives.

This was also the first time ever that an openly gay person was so visible in the Presidential race and while Pete Buttigieg didn't make it to the General Election, we will certainly be hearing more from him. Perhaps a cabinet position in a new administration? There is no answer to that just yet. And so, we wait.