Nearly 1,000 US elected officials identify as LGBTQ, but equitable representation is still a ways off, report finds

There are nearly 1,000 known LGBTQ elected officials in the US, according to a new report -- a significant increase from just four years ago, when fewer than 450 elected officials in the US were known to identify as LGBTQ.

All but one state -- Mississippi -- has elected an LGBTQ official, according to the LGBTQ Victory Institute, a group that identifies and trains potential LGBTQ candidates. Still, LGBTQ elected officials make up less than 0.2% of all US elected officials, and to reach equitable representation, another 28,000-plus LGBTQ people must be elected, the organization said. "We need a moonshot effort to catch up, and that requires LGBTQ people to run for office in much greater numbers," said Elliot Imse, vice president of communications at the LGBTQ Victory Fund.