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Welcome back to Lez Hang Out, the podcast that wants you to elect more lesbians!

This week, co-hosts Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with Janelle Perez (@janelleperezfl), the Executive Director of LPAC (@teamlpac), the only organization in the U.S. dedicated entirely to electing LGBTQ+ women and non-binary leaders.

LPAC is a nonpartisan organization born out of the realization that the majority of the financial contributions made to LGBTQ+ organizations were disproportionately going to cis white men. A group of lesbians recognized this disparity and decided to try to increase equity in politics by electing a more representative government. When LPAC was founded in 2012, there was only one queer woman running for office. Just 12 years later, in 2024 there were over 200 queer women and non-binary candidates. And not only are more candidates running, but more are winning too! LPAC had an impressive 74% win-rate in 2024. 

Janelle explains what it takes to become an LPAC endorsed-candidate (main answer: BE GAY!), why queer women statistically win more candidacy races than gay men do, and how a life-altering cancer diagnosis brought her parents from homophobic to “we want you to have your wedding on our front lawn” in record-time. Although she is now 10-years cancer free, Janelle’s coming out journey, decision to run for State Senate in FL, and involvement with LPAC are all interwoven with her diagnosis.

At 28 years old, Janelle was diagnosed with 2 types of terminal cancer. This could’ve easily derailed her life, but instead it was the catalyst that brought her family together and gave her the itch to get involved in local politics. Janelle shares that queer women typically run for office for mission-driven reasons rather than a desire for power. She herself ran on the basis of expanding access to healthcare for people in her home state after receiving an egregiously large bill for a cancer treatment. After her experience running for office, she pivoted to the organization that had backed her candidacy, LPAC, eventually stepping into the role of Executive Director.

We talk a lot about gay audacity on this podcast, and Janelle and LPAC have it in spades. If Janelle’s story inspires you and you would like to learn what it takes to run for office in your district, be sure to reach out to LPAC for all the resources you could ever possibly need to get started.

Learn more about LPAC: https://www.teamlpac.com

Give us your own answers to our Q & Gay on Instagram and follow along on Facebook, TikTok, and BlueSky @lezhangoutpod. Email us @lezhangoutpod@gmail.com. Connect with us individually: Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster).

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