WASHINGTON — As millions of LGBTQ+ Americans across the country are being targeted by an extremist minority of anti-equality politicians, judges, and their right-wing allies — working feverishly to strip away the rights of LGBTQ+ people, women, and people of color — the Human Rights Campaign PAC (HRC PAC) today announced its endorsement of the Biden-Harris 2024 presidential re-election bid, citing the administration’s historic and era-defining support for LGBTQ+ equality as crucial now more than ever.

HRC PAC’s endorsement of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris comes amidst an unprecedented spike in anti-LGBTQ+ state legislation, with more than 550 bills introduced in 43 states, and more than 80 signed into law — more than doubling last year, which was previously the worst year on record. The wave of harmful and discriminatory legislation — some of which was engineered and championed by extremist GOP candidates running for president and their allies — and the concurrent spike in anti-transgender rhetoric and violence prompted HRC in June to declare a national state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people for the first time in the organization’s more than 40-year history. Several of the GOP presidential candidates have rallied in support of the discriminatory laws that prompted the emergency declaration, as a political wedge ahead of the 2024 election cycle.

Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said the following about HRC PAC’s endorsement of the Biden-Harris 2024 presidential re-election bid:

“The Human Rights Campaign proudly endorses President Biden and Vice President Harris for the 2024 presidential election for their steadfast and unyielding support of LGBTQ+ Americans. At a time when the forces of hatred seek to divide us by race, place and identity the choice in this election is clear.

“In its first term, the Biden-Harris administration has worked closely with HRC and other advocates to secure so many historic, landmark victories for LGBTQ+ Americans — from protecting our right to marry who we love and challenging discriminatory laws seeking to deny healthcare to transgender youth, to strengthening policies that prevent discrimination in foster care, and affirming the identities of all Americans — including non-binary people who previously could not secure a passport with appropriate gender markers.

“This leadership is crucial now more than ever as LGBTQ+ Americans are living in a state of emergency — experiencing unprecedented attacks from extremist politicians and their right wing allies in states across the country, who are working tirelessly to erase us. What’s at stake in the 2024 presidential election for LGBTQ+ people is our humanity, our right to exist, and our ability to live and raise our families in environments free from discrimination and fear.

“As we did in the 2022 midterms, we will mobilize millions of Equality Voters to support pro-equality, pro-choice, and pro-democracy candidates like President Biden and Vice President Harris. We will not waver, we will not retreat, and we will again send a message that this democracy belongs to the people, and we will protect our freedoms, our identities and our bodies without exception.”

Biden-Harris Will Continue Driving Landmark Progress for LGBTQ+ Equality

Amidst the ongoing national state of emergency, the Biden-Harris administration has secured a host of important policy victories for LGBTQ+ people — initiating executive actions and rulemakings in a host of areas including federal employment protections for LGBTQ+ people, military service protections for transgender people, expanding mental health resources for LGBTQ+ youth, ensuring enforcement of LGBTQ+ students’ rights under Title IX, restoring non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people in healthcare, and ending discrimination against gay and bisexual blood donors, among many others (expanded list can be found here). Most of the pro-LGBTQ+ achievements of the Biden-Harris administration were among the more than 80 policy recommendations listed in HRC’s “Blueprint for Positive Change,” a groundbreaking document released in November 2020 that offered a roadmap toward equality for the then-incoming Biden administration.

As recently as December, President Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act — landmark legislation that enshrined marriage protections for same-sex interracial couples into federal law — and has appointed more openly LGBTQ+ judges, executive officials, and ambassadors than any other administration prior.

By contrast, the current crop of GOP presidential candidates include some of the most notorious anti-LGBTQ+ extremists like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — whose fledgling “war on woke” has obsessively targeted queer and trans young people with assaults like the Don’t Say Gay or Trans law, gender affirming care bans, and anti-LGBTQ+ book bans. These candidates are already running the same transphobic and homophobic playbooks many of them and their allies ran in the 2022 midterm elections. During the first GOP primary debate in Milwaukee last month, candidates continued attacking and maligning transgender kids to score political points with the most extreme and radical portions of their base, while offering no solutions to fix real challenges facing students and families across the country.

As extremist GOP candidates continue their obsessive attacks on LGBTQ+ people, history and polling shows the failed messaging strategy drives a wedge between candidates and average voters. Polling released after the 2022 midterm elections found that less than 5 percent of surveyed voters identified gender affirming care for transgender youth or transgender participation in sports as issues motivating them to vote—last on the list of motivating issues. Despite this reality, many of the extremist candidates running for president and their allies have doubled down—not only supporting and actively pushing anti-trans sports bans and gender affirming care bans in states across the country, but also mirroring those efforts at the federal level, where extremist House Republicans recently staged a virtual dress rehearsal for the anti-trans disinformation voters will undoubtedly see more of throughout the 2024 election cycle.

HRC Mobilizing Millions of Voters In Support of Biden-Harris, Pro-Equality Candidates

HRC’s strategy will be fueled in part by a vast and highly energized grassroots network that includes more than three million members and supporters working to mobilize 62 million “Equality Voters,” for whom LGBTQ+ equality is a make-or-break issue. HRC’s 2024 program will build on the successes of its work in 2022, where pro-equality voters turned the anticipated red wave into little more than a puddle:

• In 2022, Equality Voters (for whom LGBTQ+ equality is a motivating issue) represented 39 percent of the electorate, reflecting the growing political strength of voters who are younger and more racially diverse than the electorate as a whole.

• HRC will continue building on the successes of its 2022 election efforts — where despite efforts by extremist candidates to suppress and demoralize millions of LGBTQ+ people, women, and people of color, LGBTQ+ voters made up more of the American electorate than in any nonpresidential election prior.

• The 2022 midterms also saw pro-equality, pro-democracy, and pro-choice voters drive historic victories, including electing a record-breaking number of LGBTQ+ candidates to public office.

• Polling released after the 2022 midterm elections found that less than 5 percent of surveyed voters identified gender affirming care for transgender youth or transgender participation in sports as issues motivating them to vote—last on the list of motivating issues. Despite this reality, many of the extremist candidates running for president and their allies have doubled down—not only supporting and actively pushing anti-trans sports bans and gender affirming care bans in states across the country, but also mirroring those efforts at the federal level, where extremist House Republicans recently staged a virtual dress rehearsal for the anti-trans disinformation voters will undoubtedly see more of throughout the 2024 election cycle.

HRC will also funnel significant and expanded investments into six battleground states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin — where HRC has already built up considerable infrastructure, including full-time staff and organizers who have remained on the ground since 2018 to help keep Equality Voters engaged and geared up for November. HRC will prioritize outreach to nearly 13.5 million Equality Voters in these states.

More information about HRC’s endorsement of the Biden-Harris presidential re-election campaign — as well as HRC’s 2024 election program — can be found here. For media interested in interviews with HRC election experts, please contact press@hrc.org.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ+ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.