Election Results: LGBT Races to Watch

It was truly a landslide for equality all across the country, including wins at the ballot box for marriage equality, the first gay U.S. senator, and a new generation of representatives in Congress.

BY Michelle Garcia

November 06 2012 6:37 PM ET UPDATED: November 12 2012 4:13 PM ET

Simone Bell — Georgia House of Representatives
RESULTS: Bell Wins

Simone Bell won her district with 87% of the vote, and all precincts but one reporting. In 2009, Bell, a Democrat, became the first African-American lesbian to serve in any state legislature, but now she faced a challenge from Republican Earl Cooper after the state redrew the district.

"The map itself is a challenge," she said in July. "There's a huge difference in economic, racial, and educational status."

While there were five openly gay candidates seeking state-level office, Georgia Equality’s Cathy Woolard warns that the state legislature could emerge with a Republican supermajority, which could further impede progress on LGBT rights legislation.