BUFFALO, N.Y. (Oct. 26, 2026) — Stonewall Democrats of Western New York announced its endorsed candidates for the Nov. 3 general election, led by Congressman Tim Kennedy in New York’s 26th District.
The slate includes the statewide Democratic ticket, which members endorsed unanimously in September, along with candidates for State Supreme Court, the state Senate and Assembly, Erie County clerk and the Erie County Legislature. The endorsements mark the organization’s first cycle since its relaunch this year.
“The protections LGBTQ+ New Yorkers depend on are under attack from Washington, and that puts real weight on every office on this ballot,” said Erich Weyant, chair of the Stonewall Democrats of Western New York. “The Congress, the County Clerk’s counter, the County Legislature, and Albany are where those protections are kept or lost. Early voting is under way, and so is our work: our members will be canvassing and making calls for these candidates through Election Day.”
SDWNY’s 2026 candidate questionnaire asked candidates which existing protections need stronger enforcement, what legislation they would advance for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers and whether they support establishing an Erie County LGBTQ Advisory Commission. The organization’s Political Engagement Committee reviewed the responses and presented recommendations to members, who voted on the endorsements at a general membership meeting this month.
THE 2026 ENDORSED SLATE
Federal
U.S. House of Representatives, 26th District: Congressman Tim Kennedy
Statewide
Governor and lieutenant governor: Gov. Kathy Hochul and Adrienne Adams
Comptroller: Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli
Attorney general: Attorney General Letitia James
Judicial
State Supreme Court, Eighth Judicial District: Craig R. Bucki and Anne E. Joynt
State Legislature
State Senate, 63rd District: Sen. April N.M. Baskin
State Assembly, 142nd District: Assemblymember Patrick Burke
State Assembly, 143rd District: Ryan Taughrin
State Assembly, 146th District: Assemblymember Karen McMahon
State Assembly, 149th District, open seat: Adam Bojak
Erie County
Erie County clerk: Steven Meyer
Erie County Legislature, 1st District: Legislator Lawrence J. Dupre
Erie County Legislature, 2nd District: Legislator Taisha St. Jean Tard
Erie County Legislature, 6th District: Rathi Ravi
Erie County Legislature, 11th District, open seat: Zachary Beaudoin
Voters in all eight counties of the Eighth Judicial District — Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans and Wyoming — will elect State Supreme Court justices. SDWNY endorsed Bucki and Joynt.
Early voting began Oct. 24 and runs through Nov. 1. In Erie County, voters may cast ballots at any of 38 early voting sites, regardless of where they live. Sites are open from noon to 9 p.m. through Oct. 30 and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. On Election Day, Nov. 3, polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at each voter’s assigned polling place. Erie County site locations are listed at elections.erie.gov. Voters in other counties should check with their county boards of elections.
SDWNY’S POLICY PRIORITIES
SDWNY said the state Legislature and the House of Representatives elected Nov. 3 will make decisions affecting protections for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers. The organization outlined the issues it plans to raise with its endorsed lawmakers.
In Albany
SDWNY said two bills passed by both legislative chambers in June — the Freedom to Read Act and the Health Information Privacy Act — are awaiting action. Legislative leaders must determine when to send the bills to the governor, who would decide whether to sign them. Bills not signed before the session ends would have to be reintroduced in January.
SDWNY supports signing both bills this year. The Freedom to Read Act would bar schools from removing library books solely because someone objects to their ideas or to the identities of their authors, subjects or characters. It also would keep challenged books available to students while a review is pending and protect school staff who follow district policy.
The Health Information Privacy Act would limit how apps, websites and the companies behind them collect, use and sell health information, including information related to reproductive, sexual and gender-affirming care. SDWNY said lawmakers should pass either bill in the first weeks of the new session if it is not enacted this year.
The organization also supports making permanent funding included in this year’s state budget. That funding includes $1.8 million for LGBTQ+ youth crisis counseling and 988 counselor training and $500,000 to establish a statewide LGBTQ+ legal hotline. SDWNY supports placing the programs in the base budget and increasing the Lorena Borjas Transgender and Non-Binary Wellness and Equity Fund to $10 million annually. It also called on the state to commit to replacing federal HIV prevention funding if Washington eliminates it.
SDWNY supports replacing New York’s 2019 ban on conversion therapy for minors with legislation focused on harmful practices and deceptive claims made to sell services that promise to change a person’s identity.
The organization also supports maintaining protections for transgender students. SDWNY said New York’s Constitution, amended by voters in 2024, prohibits discrimination based on gender identity and gender expression, and that state law currently protects transgender students. It called on lawmakers to reject measures restricting transgender students’ use of school bathrooms, locker rooms or athletic teams, including provisions included in budget bills.
SDWNY said lawmakers also elect the Board of Regents, which sets school policy, and called for the board to maintain those protections.
Sen. April N.M. Baskin, whom SDWNY endorsed in the 63rd District, voted for the Freedom to Read Act in June and for Shield Law 2.0, which Gov. Kathy Hochul signed in December to protect patients and providers of reproductive and gender-affirming care. Assemblymember Karen McMahon, endorsed in the 146th District, cosponsored the Assembly version of the Freedom to Read Act.
In Washington
SDWNY said that, with the president’s veto in place through January 2029, the House majority’s principal influence will be over legislation it blocks and spending it approves.
The organization supports maintaining funding for HIV prevention. It said the 2027 health spending bill advanced by House Republicans in June would eliminate the CDC’s domestic HIV prevention program and cut the Ryan White program by $224.9 million. SDWNY supports funding both programs at no less than their 2026 levels.
SDWNY also supports making permanent the LGBTQ+ youth option on the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. The administration ended the option in 2025, and it returned Sept. 30 after pressure from Congress and continued funding. The organization supports placing the service in permanent law without carve-outs.
The organization opposes bills that would criminalize or defund gender-affirming care. It said the House voted in December 2025 to make providing gender-affirming care to minors a federal crime and to bar Medicaid from paying for the care. SDWNY called on the next House to reject those measures, including when they are introduced as riders to spending bills or in budget reconciliation legislation.
SDWNY also called for congressional investigations into a federal grand jury subpoena for NYU Langone records involving minors who received gender-affirming care and into the removal of LGBTQ+ questions from federal surveys and data collections.
Congressman Tim Kennedy, whom SDWNY endorsed in the 26th District, voted against both December 2025 bills and is a cosponsor of the Equality Act, the organization said.
A REVITALIZED ORGANIZATION
The endorsements are part of a broader revitalization under way at SDWNY. The organization’s plan, The Community We Are, the Force We Could Become, is available online.
The plan cites an estimated 73,000 LGBTQ+ adults in Erie County and identifies five goals: connecting LGBTQ+ residents with their elected officials; building a professional network for LGBTQ+ people working in politics and government; creating pathways for volunteers to join campaigns; recruiting, training and supporting LGBTQ+ candidates; and producing local research on the community and public opinion.
The plan also establishes the Madeline Davis Forum, a public candidate endorsement forum that will hold its first session during the 2027 Erie County election cycle. The forum is named for Buffalo activist Madeline Davis, who became the first openly lesbian delegate to a major-party convention in 1972 and spoke from the convention floor in support of gay rights.
“Erie County’s LGBTQ+ community built its own clinics, youth programs, and archives when government looked away,” Weyant said. “Our political organizing has not kept pace. This slate is the first step in changing that.”
Members elected new officers in July: Erich Weyant, chair; Tim Evanicki, secretary; Kevin Deese, treasurer; and Emily Marcus, sergeant-at-arms. Jakai Harrison leads the Political Engagement Committee, which conducted this year’s endorsement review, and Jake Weronski leads the Membership and Community Outreach Committee.
SDWNY will host a public happy hour at Twenty-Six Allen, 26 Allen St. in Buffalo, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 28.
About Stonewall Democrats of Western New York
Stonewall Democrats of Western New York is a membership organization of LGBTQ+ Democrats and allies working to build the political power of the LGBTQ+ community across Western New York. Through candidate endorsements, voter mobilization and leadership development, SDWNY connects LGBTQ+ voters with candidates and officials and organizes volunteers to support endorsed candidates.
