Sheila Kuehl
Kuehl was elected to the California State Assembly in 1994, becoming the first openly gay person elected to the California legislature. While running for office Kuehl found she was able to offset some negative stereotypes people had about lesbians thanks to their familiarity with her role as Zelda. She told an interviewer "When people know gay people personally, they tend to feel differently about the whole community. And all of a sudden, here's a person that they knew very well that they found out was lesbian."
James H. Kyle
In 1890 he entered politics at the urging of many people after he made a passionate political address. This was shortly after South Dakota became a state. He was first elected to the state senate but shortly after that he was elected to the United States Senate. He refused to join a political party and was one of few people to enter the Senate as an independent, but he was supported by the state Democratic party at this time. During his first term in the Senate he joined the emerging Populist Party. Kyle was reelected to the Senate by the state legislature in 1897. Soon after, as the Populist Party was disintegrating, Kyle switched to the Republican Party.