November 7, 2020
Watch: Out Pennsylvania State Rep. Brian Sims Wins Re-Election
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Out Pennsylvania State Representative Brian Sims has prevailed over a Republican challenger Drew Murray, holding onto a seat that represents the city of Philadelphia - an office he first won in 2012, local news outlet Patch.com reports.
Patch called the race for Sims before all the mail-in ballots had been counted, but the publication's prognostication was verified as the tally drew to a conclusion. Sims took to Twitter to share the news with his constituents.
"It's become pretty clear that with 83% of the votes that were cast in my district, I have, with your help, won re-election to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and I want to say thank you."
After thanking staff, friends, and neighbors, Sims spoke to how serving as an out LGBTQ lawmaker is the work of my life."
"Fighting for equality, fighting for fairness is, hands-down, the work of my life, and I get to do it for two more years with your help and your support and your guidance," Sims said.
The state lawmaker has been a potent voice in the Pennsylvania state government from the start. In 2013, Patch recalled, Sims "introduced legislation that would legalize same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania and fought to ban gay conversion therapy in the state." Sims spoke with EDGE at the time about that legislation, correctly predicting two years before the U.S. Supreme Court's celebrated 2015 ruling that "Marriage equality is going to become the law of the land."
Sims' passionate social media posts have generated controversy in the past, but left little doubt as to his priorities and his commitment to LGBTQ progress. In 2018, Sims posted an "official welcome" for Vice President Mike Pence - whose anti-LGBTQ record as the former governor of Indiana is well-known - in the form of a photograph of Sims flashing his middle finger. Text accompanying the photo celebrated Philadelphia's inclusive values and invited Pence to "get bent, then get out!"
The posts drew ire from conservatives, but Sims has also shown his sense of fun on social media. In 2016, a clip of the lawmaker lip-syncing to "Part of Your World," a song from the Disney movie musical "The Little Mermaid," went viral.
The 2020 elections have seen a "rainbow wave" of more than 160 LGBTQ candidates winning races at national, state, and local levels, including wins in numerous races for state legislatures. At the federal level, the U.S. House of Representatives saw wins for seven incumbents and two newly elected members of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Watch State Rep. Sims' Twitter message below.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
