ABOVE: Sean Meloy, photo via Facebook.
Sean Meloy, the political director for the LGBTQ Victory Fund who has taken a lead role in helping LGBTQ hopefuls get into elected office, has now taken the goal on for himself and launched a campaign to run for Congress.
Meloy, who has also served as a member of the Democratic National Committee, announced his run to represent Pennsylvania’s 17th congressional district in Congress via video on Twitter on Nov. 8, emphasizing his background as a middle-class native son of Pittsburgh.
“I was born and raised in Allegheny County,” Meloy said. “I’m a public school kid, a lifelong organizer and the product of a middle class upbringing that is no longer available for so many families. I’m running to fix that.”
Pennsylvania’s 17th congressional district is currently represented by Rep. Conor Lamb (D), who’s vacating the seat at the end of the his term to pursue a run for U.S. Senate. If elected, Meloy would be the first openly gay person to represent Pennsylvania in Congress.
Meloy is not yet an endorsed candidate by the LGBTQ Victory Fund. According to the organization, Meloy would have to go through the same process as LGBTQ political candidates seeking an endorsement from the organization, which exclusively seeks to help LGBTQ people get into elected office.
Annise Parker, CEO of LGBTQ Victory Fund, commended Meloy in a statement for taking the leap from helping other candidates get elected to seeking elected office himself.
“There is no bigger advocate for Pittsburgh and the surrounding communities than Sean, who invests enormous amounts of time and resources to building up the Democratic Party and its candidates throughout the state,” Parker said. “Not driven by ideology or absolutism, Sean is a leader who prizes progressive pragmatism and believes a government that reflects the diversity of America will perform best for its people.”
Other candidates seeking the Democratic nomination to run for the congressional seat are Christopher Deluzio, a voting rights attorney, and William Murphy, an engineer at GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy and member of the Democratic Soclalists of America. The date of the primary is not yet announced.
