daily newsletter - 11/3/25

Hi there,

🗳️ Democratic Texas state Rep. Jolanda Jones doesn’t wait for permission to speak her mind. If she wins Tuesday’s special election, Jones would make history as the first Black out lesbian elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. She’s proud of that milestone but impatient with the fact that it’s still a milestone at all. “It’s 2025,” she said. “It makes no damn sense that we’re still having firsts.”

💡 In an exclusive interview with The Advocate in her Capitol Hill office, U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride reflected on the moment she called her darkest day, the wave of transphobia that followed, and the quieter victories that have defined her first 10 months in office. Check out her interview with The Advocate's Christopher Wiggins.

🪩 New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani surprised patrons at an LGBTQ+ bar over the weekend when he stopped by their Halloween party to campaign. The Democratic nominee was met with thunderous cheers and applause when he addressed the crowd at Papi Juice around 1 a.m. on Sunday. "In a city where so much is about struggle, it's so important to have a space for joy," Mamdani said.

Onward and upward,

Alex Cooper

Editor-in-Chief, The Advocate

P.S. Support The Advocate's journalism. Become a member today.

Sarah McBride opens up about her darkest day in Congress (exclusive)

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Lesbian Texas state rep running for Congress says she’s ‘running for the people, not the powerful’

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Meet the activist teaching LGBTQ+ youth of color the value of their art

Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet

New Pentagon memo dictates how transgender troops must look to defend their service

Shutterstock

NYC mayor candidate Zohran Mamdani makes 1 a.m. surprise campaign stop at gay bar

William Ruben Helms / Shutterstock.com

Trans service members have always been part of U.S. history

courtesy Emily Shilling; MPI/Getty Images

From pansies to pink triangles: A guide to queer symbols through the ages

Shutterstock; LEE SNIDER / PHOTO IMAGES/Corbis via Getty Images; Shutterstock

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