Press Release

Victory Fund Announces Eight New Endorsements

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Denis Dison (202) 842-7308, denis.dison@victoryfund.org

Washington DC – June 28, 2006 - The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, the nation’s largest gay and lesbian political action committee, announced today its endorsement of eight more candidates, bringing the total number of endorsed candidates to 59 this year.  The new endorsements include six non-incumbents, including Victory’s only openly transgender candidate, and two Members of Congress. 

“We’re proud to recommend these candidates to our donor network,” said Chuck Wolfe, president and CEO of the Victory Fund.  “In each case, they have demonstrated a strong commitment to public service and a keen understanding of what it will take to succeed,” Wolfe said.  The following are Victory’s newest endorsed candidates:

• Dr. Dana Beyer is running for a seat in the Maryland House of Delegates to represent District 18.  Dr. Beyer, who is openly transgender, is a retired surgeon and the parent of two sons.
• Christine Johnson is a candidate for Utah House of Representatives District 25.  Johnson is vice chair of the Salt Lake City Human Rights Commission.
• Beth Bye is seeking a seat in the Connecticut House of Representatives.  Bye, the Democratic nominee for the seat, is currently the vice chair of the West Hartford Board of Education.
• Susan Eggman is a candidate for a seat on the Stockton, Calif. City Council.  Eggman is the Democratic nominee for the seat.  She is a professor of social work at CSU Sacramento and is a co-founder and vice president of the Central Valley Stonewall club.
• Denise Rushing is running for the District 3 seat on the Lake County, Calif., Board of Supervisors.  Denise is a small-business owner and would become the only woman on the five-member board.
• Xander Gordon is a candidate for the third district on the Murray, Utah School Board.  He is a social worker for the Department of Child and Family Services.

And running for re-election:

• Rep. Barney Frank, a well-known Democratic congressman from Massachusetts, is running for his 14th term in the U.S. House of Representatives.
• Rep. Tammy Baldwin, a Democratic congresswoman from Wisconsin, is running for her fifth term in the U.S. House of Representatives.

A complete list of endorsed candidates is available online at www.victoryfund.org.

Candidates are endorsed by the Victory Fund following a thorough review that includes the candidate’s professional background, an assessment of the campaign staff’s strength and the level of financial and other support from the community.  Historically, two thirds of Victory Fund candidates win their elections.
The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund provides strategic, technical and financial support to openly LGBT candidates and officials. It’s the only national organization solely committed to increasing the number of openly LGBT public officials at federal, state and local levels of government.  Victory is the nation’s largest LGBT political action committee and one of the nation’s largest non-connected PACs.  In 14 years, Victory has helped the number of openly LGBT officials grow from 49 to more than 350.  For more information, visit www.victoryfund.org