He Won: Michigan, National LGBTQ+ Leaders Discuss What a Trump Win Means and What Comes Next

From the ACLU to HRC and Equality Michigan, advocates are mapping out a plan for our community

Liam Clymer

Published: November 8, 2024 | Last Updated: November 8, 2024

In the early morning of Nov. 6, Donald Trump won re-election, after previously being defeated in his 2020 incumbent race. Following him in his return to the White House is his record — consisting of two impeachments, 34 felony counts, one conviction, a sexual abuse charge and a slew of hateful comments and actions targeting the LGBTQ+ community.

However, his victory isn’t the only one to pay attention to. A shift in the U.S. Senate and Michigan’s state House — and new additions to the Michigan Supreme Court — all have the potential to change the day-to-day lives of LGBTQ+ Michiganders.

Trump’s win

Executive director of Equality Michigan Erin Knott said LGBTQ+ community members can only speculate over what a Trump win may mean, but the tactics he used to get into office can shed a light on his intentions.

“He was President previously and we saw how he issued several executive actions, rolled out policy and took down resourceful websites,” Knott told Pride Source after the election. “So at this point in time, I don't know what his presidency is going to look like. I do know that he declared victory after repeatedly lying about transgender people and children and that he stirred up hatred with millions of dollars in false and misleading anti-trans ads.”

Staff attorney for the ACLU of Michigan’s LGBT Project Jay Kaplan said that the anti-LGBTQ+ stance he ran on could translate into real policy.

Project 2025 suggests changing civil rights law to no longer include LGBTQ+ individuals in sex discrimination legal definitions, Kaplan explained.

And while Trump has tried to distance himself from Project 2025, his Agenda 47 maintains many of the same harmful LGBTQ+ practices, Kaplan said. If implemented, it could mean prohibiting gender-affirming care under Medicare and attacking school districts supportive of transgender students through the threat of losing federal funding.

Kaplan said he believes the wave of Trump support came from those who might not agree with all of Trump’s rhetoric. “I think some of this is triggered by anger and grievance about a lot of things,” he said. “I want to believe that it's not directly targeted toward LGBTQ+ people.”

“Many times the response from supporters of the campaign would be, ‘Oh, he's not going to do that. That's not going to happen. That was written by the Heritage Foundation.’ I hope that's true,” Kaplan said.

What happened?

President of the Human Rights Campaign Kelley Robinson told Pride Source that an analysis of all of the factors that caused Harris’ defeat is ongoing, but the loss of the popular vote is telling.

“The biggest thing that's sitting with me is that we didn't just lose the Electoral College, we also lost the popular vote,” Robinson said. “I think what that says is there's something about the fears that Americans are feeling right now that we need to speak more closely to, particularly their fears around the economy.”

She added that there needs to be more intention behind telling the story of election night. While Harris did lose the popular vote, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a historic turnout in other ways.

“I think that there's a lot of work to do in understanding the what and the why, but I am very confident in what the LGBTQ+ community did — I mean 84% of us turned out for Kamala Harris, second to only Black women,” Robinson said. “We saw extraordinary turnout in the battleground states of equality voters: people that care about LGBTQ+ issues.”

Continuing to appeal to equality voters is key, even during a revamping of party strategies, Robinson said.

“This continues to be one of the most engaged constituencies in the country,” she said. “So while we're doing all the analysis about why we may have lost, I don't want to lose [sight of] why we are still winning this demographic. We have to continue to advocate for pro-LGBTQ+ rights, laws and policies because that's what's getting these folks to show up.”

Other important wins and losses

Republican senators won in large numbers, securing the Senate. And while ballots are still being counted across the country, at the time of this writing, it looks as though the House is going to stay in Republican control. Both of which strengthen Trump’s ability to govern when he comes into power.

Similarly, Michigan’s historic Democratic state trifecta has been broken up — with Republicans taking the state House. However, even with all the change, there’s good news this election for LGBTQ+ Michiganders.

Kaplan noted that the victory of Justice Kyra Harris Bolden and Kimberly Ann Thomas (both of which hold left leaning tendencies) in their races for seats on the Michigan Supreme Court would bolster LGBTQ+ protections in Michigan. The loss of the state House may make it harder to pass LGBTQ+ legislation, but the 5-2 progressive split of the state Supreme Court will further protect what’s already in place, he said.

Knott added that Gov. Whitmer will still be in power for the next two years.

“We can't forget that we have one heck of a strong champion for LGBTQ+ Michiganders in Governor Whitmer and her administration, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and, of course, the attorney general [out lesbian Dana Nessel],” Knott said. “The women in the executive branch have had our back repeatedly — they have demonstrated that. They have our back and that gives me peace of mind.”

U.S. Senator-elect Elissa Slotkin, who has a history of supporting pro-LGBTQ+ legislation, won her seat on the Senate by a razor thin margin.

And outside of Michigan, there are advancements being made. For the first time in history, two Black women — Angela Alsobrooks and Lisa Bluntwill — will serve in the U.S. Senate at the same time.

Sarah McBride won Delaware’s only House seat, becoming the first out transgender person elected to the U.S. Congress. Open Wisconsin lesbian Senator Tammy Baldwin won re-election. And in Minnesota, voters re-elected three trans members of the state legislature.

Furthermore, the majority of voters who had abortion on the ballot chose to expand or protect it, even in states that voted for Trump.

Robinson said that split ballots show that progress is still moving forward.

“You did see some real hopeful victories there, and I think it's a testament to the future of the party,” she said. “We have such a phenomenal bench — there's so many people that are in state offices and city councils and now running for Congress that I'm excited about what the future of our movement has to offer.”

Robinson added, “You have so many emerging leaders that are ready to carry the torch that know how to win in challenging environments, know how to handle tough questions and that are getting the experience they need in an elected office to be ready to run for higher and higher offices over time. All of this is a good sign for the future of our party and the future of our movement.”

The results of other key races are as follows:

U.S. Congress

(Lost) Curtis Hertel, District 7 (Elissa Slotkin’s former district)

Michigan State House Representative Candidates

(Won) Mike McFall, District 14
(Won) Laurie Pohustky, District 17
(Won) Jason Hoskins, District 18
(Won) Noah Arbit, District 20
(Won) Jason Morgan, District 23
(Won) Emily Dievendorf, District 77

County Office Candidates

(Won) Domonique Clemons (Genesee County Clerk & Register of Deeds)
(Won) Dave Coulter (Oakland County Executive)
(Won) Eli Savit (Washtenaw County Prosecuting Attorney)
(Won) Alyshia Dyer (Washtenaw County Sheriff)

Judicial Candidates

(Won) S. Kerene Moore (15th District Court Judge)

City/Township Government Candidates

(Won) Jon Mallek (Ann Arbor City Council, Ward 2)
(Won) Travis Radina (Ann Arbor City Council, Ward 3)
(Won) Leslie Blackburn (Lodi Township Trustee)

Moving forward

When looking ahead, Robinson encouraged LGBTQ+ community members to take a moment to feel the impact of this election. “Feel the grief, because I think how heavy the grief feels is also how heavy the weight of responsibility we have to continue the work is,” Robinson said.

Taking care of one another, creating action before Trump is sworn in on Jan. 20 and preparing for what comes next are the best things LGBTQ+ Americans can do right now, Robinson noted.

Kaplan said that care for one another is best shown through a commitment to community.

“I think all of us have to commit ourselves to our community and to our most vulnerable members of our community,” he said. “What are we going to do to stand up for these folks? What can we do? We're gonna have to think creatively. If it's not legislation, if that can't pass, can we raise money for a program that provides support? We're just going to have to really take a look and see what are things that we can do.”

Knott encourages pushing through legislation on a local level before new state House members are sworn in.

“We're gonna work with the current legislature before new officials are sworn into office to enshrine as many protections as possible to protect LGBTQ+ people,” she said. “We have our name-changing identity documents legislation — that's House bills 5300 through 5303. We’ve got to make sure that these bills get their time before members of both chambers, that they have an opportunity for a floor vote and get put on the Governor's desk before they adjourn for the year.”

Similar action needs to be taken on a national level, Robinson said.

“We expect that during this lame duck Congress, one of the big to-do's will be to pass a full budget,” Robinson explained. “We want to make sure that when that budget passes, there aren't any riders or amendments included that try to chip away at our rights.”

She encouraged voters to hold their members of Congress accountable whether in the budget battle or when it comes to their rhetoric post-election, now that Trump has won.

But most of all, Knott said it was important to remember the history of LGBTQ+ activists when faced with new opposition.

“Our movement is resilient,” she said. “We've been here before, and organizations like Equality Michigan are built for this moment — we're going to be here and we're going to continue to fight.”

Topics: News Michigan Opinions 2024 Election Perspectives Election 2024 Election Perspectives

He Won: Michigan, National LGBTQ+ Leaders Discuss What a Trump Win Means and What Comes Next