Post submitted by Ianthe Metzger, Former Press Secretary, State & Local 

As President Donald Trump heads to Mesa, Arizona, to campaign for U.S. Senate Candidate Rep. Martha McSally, HRC is exposing the records of these two anti-equality candidates who have long records of undermining LGBTQ equality.

“McSally shows us every day that she’s more interested in taking orders from Trump than doing what’s right for Arizonans,” said HRC Arizona State Director Justin Unga. “From her votes to gut critical health care protections to kowtowing to Trump’s shameful ban on transgender service members, her agenda is not only wrong for Arizona, but politically toxic in a state with more than 800,000 Equality Voters. Arizonans deserve a voice in the Senate who will put solutions first, and the choice could not be more clear -- Kyrsten Sinema is the bipartisan champion we deserve. With less than 20 days from the crucial midterm elections, HRC is on the ground mobilizing our hundreds of thousands of members and supporters in Arizona to turn out for equality.”

Rep. McSally has long opposed marriage equality and supported discriminatory, anti-LGBTQ policies and proposals while in Congress, including an amendment that would allow discrimination against LGBTQ people by taxpayer-funded organizations. She has refused to criticize the Trump-Pence administration's efforts to ban qualified transgender service members from the military and voted for an amendment to ban transition-related health care for service members and their families. She has also voted to raise healthcare premiums and roll back protections for 2.8 million Arizonans with pre-existing conditions, including many LGBTQ people.

As Trump and McSally campaign together and push their anti-equality agendas, HRC is on the ground mobilizing our members and supporters and Equality Voters in Arizona to elect HRC-endorsed Representative Kyrsten Sinema to the U.S. Senate. Sinema is a staunch advocate for the LGBTQ community, earning a perfect 100 on HRC’s Congressional Scorecards in each Congress since she was elected in 2012. Sinema is also a cosponsor of the Equality Act, crucial federal legislation that would extend comprehensive federal protections to millions of LGBTQ Americans.

In Arizona, HRC has identified more than 800,000 voters as likely “Equality Voters,” meaning they are strong supporters of progressive LGBTQ policies including marriage equality, equitable family law, and laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. HRC has prioritized investments and organizing in Arizona, and has staff and resources on the ground in the state as part of the largest grassroots expansion in the organization’s 38-year history.