Jalen McKee-Rodriguez Becomes First Openly Black Gay Man To Be Elected In Texas
Jalen McKee-Rodriguez has made history as the first openly Black gay man elected to any office in Texas.
According to KENS5, McKee-Rodriguez, 26, defeated the incumbent, Jada Andrews-Sullivan, with 63 percent of the vote. Andrews-Sullivan, who once employed McKee-Rodriguez, received 37 percent of the vote.
In 2019, McKee-Rodriguez resigned from a staff position at Andrews-Sullivan’s office “because of retaliation he faced after telling her about issues with another staff member’s treatment of him as an openly gay man, which Andrews-Sullivan denied,” KSAT reports.
There were allegedly pastors telling their congregation it would be a sin to vote for McKee-Rodriguez, which was also denied.
McKee-Rodriguez said in a statement after his victory, "A lot of people said that District 2 wouldn't be ready for a candidate like me. Would District 2 be ready for a young gay candidate? Is Texas ready for a gay Black man to be elected anywhere and to any position? And so I think what we proved and what the community proved is that everyone deserves representation and if you have the right motives and if you have the right passions and if you're a good listener, the people will trust that. I hope this opens doors for a lot of people."
See the full election results, click here.