On January 23, the Victory Fund—the national organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ leaders to public office—endorsed Democrat Ross LaJeunesse for US Congress.
LaJeunesse, a former Google executive who’d previously served as advisor to US Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell and Senator Edward Kennedy and held leadership roles in the California state government, is running for Susan Collins’ seat in the US Senate.
The openly gay Biddeford native moved back to Maine with his husband last April after teaching foreign affairs at Georgetown University. Prior to that, he served as head of international relations for Google in California, where he’d also been chief of staff to California State Controller Steve Westly and as deputy chief of staff for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
“A leadership change in the U.S. Senate is essential to securing federal LGBTQ equality legislation,” said Mayor Annise Parker, Victory Fund president and CEO. “I know Ross well, and whether in government or the private sector, he consistently puts people and principles ahead of politics and self-interest.”
“Ross will restore common sense and principled leadership to the U.S. Senate seat from Maine. That he will make history in the process—becoming America’s first openly LGBTQ man elected to the U.S. Senate—will only make the victory more satisfying,” Parker said.
“I’d be proud to be the first openly gay man in the United States Senate and I am deeply honored to receive this endorsement,” LaJeunesse said in the Victory Fund’s statement of endorsement. “Victory Fund is changing the face of public service in the United States by empowering more elected officials to serve openly and honestly. Mainers believe in those values and I’ll be a fighter for equality and justice in the U.S. Senate.”
Not a subscriber? Sign up today for a free subscription to Boston Spirit magazine, New England’s premier LGBT magazine. We will send you a copy of Boston Spirit 6 times per year and we never sell/rent our subscriber information. Click HERE to sign up!
