More openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people were elected Tuesday night than in any previous election, signaling a shift in cultural attitudes even as the Trump administration has chipped awayat L.G.B.T. rights.

The results are still rolling in, but at least 153 have won so far [as of Nov 11: 159 have won], said Elliot Imse, a spokesman for the Victory Fund, a nonpartisan political action committee devoted to electing L.G.B.T. candidates. The group endorsed 225 candidates in this election cycle, nearly all of whom were Democrats.

L.G.B.T. candidates ran for office in record numbers this year. “Success breeds success,” said Annise Parker, the president and chief executive of the Victory Fund and former mayor of Houston.

“We’re not going out and pleading with people to run,” she added. “These are people who say, ‘I want to go out and do this and bring my whole self to the campaign.’”

The candidates not only won open seats but also made a strong showing as incumbents and challengers on Tuesday in what became a day of firsts for groups that have traditionally been underrepresented in political office.

But the path to Election Day was not without difficulties. Many candidates faced threats and bias.

Gina Ortiz Jones, a Democratic candidate in the 23rd Congressional District in Texas, was asked onstage by an opponent to tell voters that she was a lesbian so it would not be “revealed later.” Her race has not been called yet.

And in Kansas, a Republican official called Ms. Davids a “radical socialist kickboxing lesbian Indian” who should be “sent back packing to the reservation.”

The vitriol could be especially toxic for transgender candidates. Read more via New York Times