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."
Carol Shea-Porter
Shea-Porter was first elected in 2006, defeating Republican incumbent Jeb Bradley. She beat Bradley again in 2008 but was defeated in 2010 by former Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta and left Congress in January 2011. In 2012, Shea-Porter reclaimed her seat as she beat Guinta in a rematch. She faced Guinta for a third time in the 2014 election and lost for the second time. On July 2, 2015, she announced she would again run for her old seat. She defeated Guinta for the second time, the fourth straight election in a row that the two faced each other.