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."
Jill Long Thompson
Long Thompson began her political career in 1983 at age 31, when she launched a successful campaign to win a seat on the Valparaiso City Council, a post she held from 1984 to 1986. In 1986, she became the first woman in Indiana in either major party to win the nomination for U.S. Senate, a race she lost to incumbent Senator and future Vice President Dan Quayle.