Human Rights Campaign Senior Vice President, Policy & Political Affairs JoDee Winterhof released the following statement:

“We are proud to support Robert Zimmerman’s campaign for Congress. From LGBTQ+ rights to reproductive freedom, Robert Zimmerman has been a relentless pro-equality champion for all New Yorkers. As an openly gay man who has devoted his professional life to fighting for equality, Robert Zimmerman understands firsthand the challenges that the LGBTQ+ community faces everyday. For decades, he has used this experience to be a leading pro-equality voice in his community. We look forward to him becoming the first openly LGBTQ+ Member of Congress from Queens and Long Island.”

Robert Zimmerman released the following statement:

“I am honored to receive the endorsement of the Human Rights Campaign. With our democracy and civil rights under constant threat from right wing extremists both in Congress and on the Supreme Court, I stand unwavering in my commitment to fight for the rights of our LGBTQ+ family. An attack on one marginalized community is an attack on all. I look forward to fighting alongside the Human Rights Campaign and serving my community as the first openly LGBTQ+ Member of Congress from Queens and Long Island.”

Opponent’s Anti-Equality Record

In comparison, Zimmerman’s opponent, George Santos, has been a vocal opponent to pro-equality values. Santos has stated that he “stands proudly behind” Governor Ron Desantis’s “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” law. Santos is also a promoter of anti-democratic conspiracy theories, including Donald Trump’s “big lie” and Santos attended the January 6 rally in Washington, DC that resulted in the insurrection at the Capitol Building. Additionally, Santos holds extremist views on reproductive health and has said that, if given the opportunity, he would “vote to support the ban of abortion in the United States.”

HRC’s Commitment to New York

Equality Voters, including the more than 6.1 million in New York, are a voting bloc of demographically and geographically diverse Americans who are united by the advancement of LGBTQ+ equality. Equality Voters are younger, more racially diverse, and more female than the general electorate, they recognize and trust the HRC brand, and they are more likely to identify with issue-specific organizations than candidates or political parties.

Across the country, HRC PAC works every day to elect pro-equality leaders who support policies that will support the rights and lives of LGBTQ+ people. During the 2020 election cycle, HRC staff on the ground recruited 5,800 individual volunteers nationwide who completed 28,500 hours of voter contact in more than 2,650 volunteer events. HRC engaged in robust digital and online GOTV efforts, including sending over 2.7 million person-to-person text messages, a massive increase from 2018 when approximately 500,000 texts were sent. HRC sent over 2.5 million mail pieces, had over 930,000 phone conversations with voters, and engaged more than 200,000 voters through HRC’s voter dashboard at hrc.org/vote.