LGBTQ candidates made history in 2020, but what's most 'earth-shattering' about their record is its standout diversity Connor Perrett The White House is blanketed in rainbow colours symbolizing LGBT pride in Washington on June 26, 2015. In the November general election, a number of LGBTQ candidates won races across the US in a phenomenon that's been dubbed the "rainbow wave." Several winners made history, including the first Black gay members of Congress, the first transgender state senator in Delaware, and the first nonbinary state legislator. Andrew Reynolds, a professor at Princeton University who studies LGBTQ+ people in politics, said the wins were more a "splash" than a "wave," noting that the gains coincided with existing trends.