Over 500 LGBTQ candidates are running for office this year and according to the LGBTQ victory fund, the candidates are more racially diverse than ever.
Here are some highlighted stories of the candidates on the ballot: https://nbcnews.to/2TqVpZM 
(1/7) #NBCNewsThread

Gina Ortiz Jones would be the first Filipino American woman and first openly gay representative from Texas.
“I really felt called to protect the opportunities that allowed me to grow up healthy, get an education and serve our country,” Jones said. https://nbcnews.to/34sc19W  (2/7)

Mondaire Jones is a favorite to win New York’s 17th Congressional district.
“I’m proud to be part of a movement of young people, including young people of color and young queer people and young women,” Jones said. https://nbcnews.to/3mnc6C0  (3/7)

Sarah McBride could become the first openly transgender person elected to Delaware’s General Assembly and the first transgender state senator in the US.
“I would be legislating based on my values and on the needs of my constituents,” she said. https://nbcnews.to/31XUSDB  (4/7)

Austin Quinn-Davidson will be the first openly gay woman to serve as the mayor of Anchorage, Alaska. https://nbcnews.to/2HyZYyy  (5/7)

Jabari Brisport, a middle school math and science teacher, is expected to be the first Black openly gay member of the New York state Legislature. The Democratic nominee in Brooklyn's 25th State Senate District is running unopposed. https://nbcnews.to/2HtHXlf  (6/7)

Stephanie Byers would be Kansas' first transgender lawmaker.
The Democratic candidate is running for a seat in the Kansas House of Representatives. “I realized that when I came out as a teacher that I was blazing the pathway,” she said. https://nbcnews.to/34svGGR  (7/7)