Mississippi Democrat Fabian Nelson wins primary, set to become the state's first openly gay lawmaker

Source: Associated Press

Mississippi Democrat wins primary, set to become the state’s first openly gay lawmaker

BY MICHAEL GOLDBERG
Updated 5:10 PM EDT, August 30, 2023

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi will have its first-ever openly gay state legislator after a House candidate won his Democratic primary election runoff Tuesday.

Fabian Nelson, a 38-year-old realtor from Byram, prevailed over Roshunda Harris-Allen, an education professor at Tougaloo College and alderwoman in Byram. The race to represent the House district in the south Jackson metro area was decided in a runoff after neither Nelson nor Allen received a majority vote in the Aug. 8 primary. A local pastor finished a distant third and did not advance to the runoff.

Nelson’s victory comes on the heels of a historic wave of restrictions passed by Republican-controlled legislatures targeting the rights of transgender people. LGBTQ+ advocates say they’ve seen a record number of measures aimed at their community in 2023. In February, Mississippi enacted a ban on gender-affirming hormones or surgery for anyone in the state younger than 18.

Republicans did not field a candidate for the general election, so Nelson will go on to represent the district. He will be sworn in before the next legislative session in January. His win marks the fulfillment of a goal he’s had since visiting the Capitol on an elementary school field trip and telling his teacher he’d sit on the House floor one day.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/mississippi-primary-runoff-elections-734b6f530136e8c5aa2ebd917eaf9321