Eric Morrison
Eric Morrison won his race for the Delaware state House of Representatives against the anti-LGBTQ Democratic incumbent Rep. Earl Jaques. Morrison is also known by her drag name Anita Mann. Morrison won with 61 percent of the vote.
The race got nasty when incumbent Jaques attacked the challenger for appearing in a drag show that was a fundraiser for his campaign.
“That is so far off-base for our district, it’s unbelievable,” Jaques told The News Journal. “You wonder what the point is. You can have fundraisers, I don’t care about that. But dressing in drag? Really?”
But his criticism backfired and Jaques apologized. At the same time, the leadership of the Delaware House issued a statement that they disagreed with the incumbent and they have “taken great pride” in strengthening LGBTQ protections in the state.
According to the LGBTQ Victory Fund, if elected, Morrison will become the first openly gay man to serve in Delaware’s Legislature. And he may become the first drag queen elected to any state legislature.
In this week’s Delaware primary, the last of the state primaries held across the country, former HRC employee Sarah McBride, who is transgender, also won her race. If elected, she would become one of the first openly trans state senators in the U.S. McBride spoke at Dallas’ Black Tie Dinner in 2018.
— David Taffet
