Gina Ortiz Jones wants to be the first out Congressperson from Texas

Gina Ortiz Jones
Photo: Gina Ortiz Jones Campaign

Democrat Gina Ortiz Jones is currently fighting to become the first out LGBTQ person elected to Congress from Texas.

“I would be honored to be the first,” she told LGBTQ Nation. “It’s more important I’m not the last.”

Related: Texas Democrats picked a lesbian while Republicans rejected a religious right candidate

Jones, a veteran of the Air Force and Iraq War, said the progressive policies she plans to fight for in Congress are personal.

“I always say I am running very simply to protect the opportunities that allowed me to grow up healthy, get an education, and serve our country,” she said.

Jones is running in Texas’ 23^rd district, a mostly rural area that encompasses parts of San Antonio, along with 800 miles of U.S./Mexico border communities.

A first generation American, she grew up in San Antonio and her mother is from the Philippines. She raised Jones and her sister as a single mother. They lived in subsidized housing and relied on reduced lunch programs. Jones emphasized that these programs were not handouts for her family, but rather critical investments in their future.

These programs, she said, allowed her to graduate from San Antonio’s John Jay High School, earn an ROTC scholarship to Boston University, and go on to serve the country.

“These aren’t just talking points. These are things in my life that have affected me personally, and I know they’re critical for folks that similarly rely on those. I’m living what’s possible as a result of investing in vulnerable folks.”

Jones also served under the…

Read full story, and more, from Source: Gina Ortiz Jones wants to be the first out Congressperson from Texas