California voters voted in support of keeping Gov. Newsom in office as the state’s 40th Governor. The Human Rights Campaign endorsed Gov. Newsom ahead of Tuesday’s election and stood with the governor, Equality California, and a long list of California elected leaders and LGBTQ+ champions to oppose the recall effort. Governor Newsom has been a strong ally of the LGBTQ+ community in a state that is home to more than 7.8 million Equality Voters and more than 1.6 million LGBTQ+ adults. Human Rights Campaign Senior Vice President for Policy & Political Affairs JoDee Winterhof, issued the following statement congratulating Gov. Newsom:

“The people of California have spoken. Gov. Newsom’s leadership during these challenging times and his record as a staunch champion of LGBTQ+ equality are undeniable. From signing legislation to protect and advance the rights of transgender Californians to expanding access to HIV prevention medication and helping lead California through the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had a disproportionate impact on LGBTQ+ people, Gov. Newsom has been and will continue to be a leader and advocate for the 1.6 million LGBTQ+ Californians. We look forward to continuing our work to advance equality alongside Governor Newsom.”

Gov. Newsom has a long record of supporting LGBTQ+ Californians. As Mayor of San Francisco, Newsom issued thousands of marriage licenses to same-sex couples when marriage equality was expressly prohibited by law. In his role as governor, he built an inclusive administration that strengthened protections for LGBTQ+ Californians, eliminating stark disparities in laws that punished LGBTQ+ youth more harshly than their peers, extending protections for transgender, gender-nonconforming and intersex Californians in state custody, and ending long-standing practices of insurance companies discriminating against HIV-positive individuals. More recently, he signed legislation to ensure comprehensive data is collected that focuses on the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the LGBTQ+ community.