Lupe Valdez has become the first openly lesbian candidate to win a nomination for Texas Governor.
The four-term sheriff will take on anti-gay Republican incumbent Greg Abbott after beating Andrew White by five percentage points in the Democratic run-off on May 22.
In a rousing victory speech, she paid tribute to her partner – who she called “my darling sweetheart Lindsay” – before promising to “fight for change.”
“We’re going to make it happen. A stronger and fair Texas. A tolerant and diverse Texas. A Texas where the everyday person has a voice and a shot just as I did.”
Valdez then pleaded with Texans to let her help them, saying: “Let me find a path for you.
“Let me find a path for your health care. Let me find a path for your living wage.”
She continued: “Texas is changing. Look around you. This is what Texas looks like. Like all of us.”
The nominee told her fans: “We have the grassroots. We have the people. We have the momentum. We are the ones who truly represent Texas.”
And Valdez, 70, dismissed fears that she can’t win against her heavily backed opponent in the November election.
“Please tell me when I didn’t have an uphill battle… I am getting darn good at uphill battles, and I’m not done yet,” she said to rapturous applause.
And Valdez wasn’t the only LGBT candidate making history in Texas yesterday, as lesbian veteran Gina Ortiz Jones won the right to contest the 23rd Congressional District in November.
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