HRC congratulates Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner on his reelection.

“LGBTQ Houstonians, and our allies, turned out to return a strong ally to City Hall,” said HRC President Alphonso David. “Throughout this campaign, Mayor Turner has shown his commitment to a more fair and equal Houston. And that message resonated. Across the city, individuals and families living in Houston rejected Buzbee’s hateful and discriminatory message and embraced a future where every person, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation, has a chance to succeed. Moving forward, the Human Rights Campaign will work with Mayor Turner to identify ways to improve the lives of LGBTQ people living in Houston.”

Since his time in the state legislature, Mayor Turner has had a strong record on LGBTQ issues. He authored bills to protect homeless LGBTQ youth, earning him an A+ from Equality Texas. As Mayor, he created an LGBTQ Advisory Board in the wake of the Pulse shooting to identify further ways he and his office could improve on their already strong LGBTQ record.

Tony Buzbee, a major Trump donor, has utilized his personal wealth to self-fund his campaign, allowing him to steer clear of addressing the needs of Houstonians. Throughout the campaign, Buzbee has advocated against a legitimate equal rights ordinance and continues to placate his far-right allies, like Steven Hotze.

Alongside its three permanent full-time staff in Texas and four local volunteer steering committees, HRC deployed 13 additional staff and organizers for a major get-out-the-vote effort across the state. In addition to robust door-to-door, mail and phone canvassing in partnership with local groups including Equality Texas, HRC hosted four Equality Action Academy trainings to give HRC members and supporters the tools they need to take action locally in legislative advocacy and in support of pro-equality candidate campaigns.