Mississippi will have its first gay state legislature after a House of Representatives candidate won Tuesday’s second round of the Democratic primary in a district Republicans do not contest.

Fabian Nelson, a 38-year-old real estate agent from Byram, prevailed over Roshunda Harris-Allen, an education professor at Tougaloo College and councilor in Byram. The race to represent the Mississippi House district in Jackson’s southern metro area was decided in a runoff election after neither Nelson nor Allen received a majority in the August 8 primary. A local pastor finished a distant third and did not advance to the second round.

Nelson’s victory follows a historic wave of restrictions passed by Republican-controlled lawmakers that focus on transgender rights. LGBTQ+ advocates say they’ve seen a record number of measures targeting their communities in 2023. In February, Mississippi introduced a ban on gender-affirming hormones or surgeries for anyone under the age of 18 in the state.

The Republicans have not run for the general election, so Nelson will represent the district. He will be sworn in before the next parliamentary term in January. His victory marks the fulfillment of a goal he’s had since visiting the Capitol during an elementary school field trip and telling his teacher that one day he’d sit on the floor of the house.

I still think I’m in a dream. I’m still trying to process and absorb it, Nelson said in an interview Wednesday. I still find it shocking, to be honest.

Nelson was supported by the Human Rights Campaign, the country’s largest LGBTQ+ rights organization. In June, the organization declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the US, citing the passing of discriminatory bills.

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It sends a real message, at a time when we’re seeing attacks on the legislative front and through violence against the LGBTQ+ community, that the majority of people reject that kind of hostility, said Rob Hill, state director of the Mississippi Department of Justice the Human Rights Campaign, in an interview afterwards. Nelson’s victory. “I think many youth in the state who feel that their leaders are rejecting or targeting them will not feel so lonely today.

The Hinds County district includes southwestern Jackson and part of Byram, Salem, and Terry. Nelson said he connected with voters by relying on his deep local ties. As president, he wants to increase access to health care for low-income people by pushing for expansion of Medicaid.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to be in first place, but what ultimately won this campaign is the fact that I’m in touch with my community and the issues my community is facing, Nelson said.

He also wants to be a voice against policies that harm marginalized communities, he said.

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At the end of the day, I put on my suit, just like any other person who walks into that state building does,” Nelson said. “I’m going to walk in there and I’ll be a sound voice on why things like this can’t go on in the state of Mississippi.

In a statement, Annise Parker, president of the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, said Mississippi is “one of the last two states to reach the milestone of electing an LGBTQ+ legislature.

Mississippi voters should be proud of the history they made, but also proud to know they will be well represented by Fabian, Parker said.

One of the authors of Mississippi’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors, Republican Rep. Nick Bain of Corinth, was left behind in a nerve-wracking primary in northern Mississippi on Wednesday. The race was still not declared on Wednesday, but Bain followed fellow Republican Brad Mattox, who owns a gun shop called Big Bang Trading Co.