A lot can be true at once
The morning after an election can feel like waking up to a group text that’s still blowing up. There’s relief, grief, anger, hope, confusion, and possibly the desire to put your phone in a drawer and let it think about what it did.
If you’re LGBTQ+ in Florida, especially trans or gender-expansive, you may be holding several reactions at once. Florida had real losses for many people in our community. It also had meaningful wins. Nationally, Democrats captured the House in a result being described as a blue wave, and LGBTQ+ candidates made history across the country.
I’m writing this as a trans-identified therapist and as part of the community, not as someone watching from a safe distance. At our trans-led practice, we know political news doesn’t stay neatly on a screen. It can reach into questions of safety, belonging, healthcare, family, work, and what the future might hold. You don’t have to feel one particular way about this election to deserve care.
Florida’s results: losses and wins
Republican Byron Donalds won Florida’s governor’s race over David Jolly. Ashley Moody retained the U.S. Senate seat, and Republicans won the races for attorney general, agriculture commissioner, and chief financial officer. Amendment 3, concerning an increase to the homestead tax exemption, passed; Amendments 1 and 2 failed.
Those results matter. For LGBTQ+ Floridians concerned about policy, including trans people and loved ones thinking about gender-affirming care in Florida, a statewide result can bring up real uncertainty. It’s okay to name that without pretending the outcome feels fine or turning your feelings into a debate assignment.
And there were important wins here, too. Florida elected its largest-ever LGBTQ+ legislative caucus, with seven members. Quinnie Perez became the state’s first transgender elected official. That is a milestone in Florida history, not a small footnote to a bigger story.
These results do not cancel each other out. A win for representation does not erase fears about statewide leadership; a statewide loss does not erase the people who ran, organized, voted, supported one another, and made history. We can be honest about all of it.
What the national blue wave means, and what it doesn’t
Nationally, Democrats captured the House in a result described as a blue wave or even a “tsunami,” gaining at least 28–29 seats, with projections reaching 255 or more. As of November 4, some counts and projections are still being reported, so the final numbers may change. Coverage has pointed to voter frustration over the cost of living and the Iran war as major forces behind the result. Speaker Mike Johnson has said he will not seek the minority leader role.
A new House majority can shape the national conversation and influence legislation, budgets, and oversight. It does not guarantee that every policy fight is over, or that federal action will automatically resolve concerns LGBTQ+ people face in Florida. The next chapter will depend on what elected officials do, what policies move forward, and how those choices affect people’s lives.
For trans Floridians, it’s reasonable to feel both a little more hopeful and still uncertain. A national shift can change the political landscape, but it doesn’t make local stress disappear overnight. We can notice the possibility without asking ourselves to treat possibility as a promise.
A rainbow wave of representation
The national results also brought LGBTQ+ milestones. Sarah McBride won reelection as the first out trans member of Congress. Chris Pappas became the first out gay man elected to the U.S. Senate, and JD Ford became the first out gay man elected to Congress from Indiana.
There were also firsts and historic wins among trans and gender-diverse lawmakers: Allison Montgomery in Alabama; Bentley Hudgins, a nonbinary lawmaker, in Georgia; Jaelynn Scott in Washington, the nation’s first out Black trans state lawmaker; Joanna Whaley in Michigan; and Dina Nina Martinez-Rutherford in Wisconsin. Leigh Finke won reelection in Minnesota.
Representation isn’t a magic shield against discrimination, and no elected official can carry the whole community on their shoulders. But seeing someone like you in public life can matter. Research on role models and mentors, not on election results specifically, suggests that affirming role models can support identity acceptance, psychological safety, and self-confidence. That doesn’t prove that one election will improve anyone’s mental health. It does help explain why visibility and belonging can feel meaningful.
For someone who has often heard that their identity or future is up for debate, seeing trans and LGBTQ+ people elected can offer a different picture: we belong in public life, and our community has more than one possible future.
Care for your nervous system after election night
You don’t need to stay glued to updates to prove you care. You also don’t need to force yourself to feel hopeful on a schedule. Try a few small things and see what helps:
- Choose a news window. Check a source you trust at a set time, then give yourself permission to step away. Rechecking the same update every three minutes rarely makes it more soothing.
- Notice what’s happening in your body. Are your shoulders creeping toward your ears? Is your breathing shallow? A slower exhale, a drink of water, or a short walk can help you pause.
- Reach toward people who feel steady. Send a simple text: “I’m having a lot of feelings about the election. Can we talk or do something ordinary together?”
- Make room for joy that isn’t a rebuttal. Rest, laughter, food, music, and time with people who get you do not mean you’ve stopped caring. You are allowed to be a person, not a full-time news response.
- Let allies take practical action. Trans allyship can look like showing up consistently, supporting trans-led groups, and offering concrete help, not asking trans friends to explain every headline or reassure everyone else.
Community care is not a substitute for policy or safety. It is one way we help one another get through the days while continuing to work for both.
Staying connected in Florida
TransNetwork is a local, trans-led 501(c)(3) offering ways to connect with community, find resources, and take part in events. If it feels right for you, you can explore TransNetwork’s community and events or learn how to get involved. Showing up might mean volunteering, donating, attending something, sharing a resource, or simply finding a room where you don’t have to explain yourself first.
At Byrnes Counseling Group, we offer identity-affirming therapy for adults, including LGBTQ+ affirming therapy and gender-affirming therapy, in person and by telehealth across Florida. Therapy can be a place to sort through anxiety, anger, grief, hope, or the exhausting feeling that you’re supposed to have a perfectly organized opinion by breakfast. You don’t.
If election news is affecting your sleep, relationships, or sense of safety, you deserve support that takes the context seriously without reducing your whole life to politics. You can reach out to ask a question or schedule a conversation.
The takeaway: both stories are real
Florida had losses that deserve to be named. It also had a record LGBTQ+ legislative caucus and its first transgender elected official. Nationally, the blue wave brought a new House majority and a remarkable set of LGBTQ+ wins.
None of that tells you what you have to feel today. It does tell us that our community showed up: in public life, in community, and for one another. Wins and losses are both real, both worth naming, and neither is the whole story of who we are or what comes next.