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

Richard Tisei — U.S. House (Massachusetts 6)
RESULTS: Tisei Defeated

After a tight, contentious race, Democratic incumbent John Tierney defeated gay Republican Richard Tiesi in the battle to represent Massachusetts's sixth congressional district. Tisei lost with 47% of the vote, while Tierney scraped by with 48%. The race was one of the country's most expensive congressional races, as well as one of the nastiest, according to Politico.

Tisei's win would have made him the first openly gay nonincumbent Republican to win election. A supporter told The Boston Globe, "If this state won't elect a Republican like Richard Tisei, it will never elect a Republican." In his acceptance speech Tuesday evening, Tierney said, "In the end this was not about our family and it wasn’t about his family. It was about your families. You owned this. This is your victory." (Read More About The Race)