{"id":336898,"date":"2026-07-11T12:28:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T12:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/336898\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T12:28:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T12:28:09","slug":"candidates-advocates-flock-to-orlando-for-lgbtq-democratic-caucus-summer-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/336898\/","title":{"rendered":"Candidates, advocates flock to Orlando for LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus Summer Conference"},"content":{"rendered":"

Florida\u2019s LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus<\/a> is hosting its 2026 Summer Conference<\/a> this weekend in Orlando, bringing together candidates, elected officials, activists and party organizers from across the state for three days of speeches, policy panels and grassroots organizing.<\/p>\n

The event, which runs Friday through Sunday at the Lake Nona Wave Hotel<\/a>, will feature a keynote address from Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, along with remarks from a passel of Democrats running statewide and nationally.<\/p>\n

Discussion sessions will focus on healthcare access, transgender advocacy and building political power amid Florida\u2019s increasingly restrictive laws on reproductive and gender-affirming care.<\/p>\n

Friday evening features a welcome reception from 7 to 9 p.m., while Saturday\u2019s programming begins at 7:30 a.m. with a complimentary breakfast and runs through an evening dinner at 7 p.m., with ample happenings in between. Then Sunday morning concludes the conference with a canvassing operation for House District 43 candidate Samuel Vilchez Santiago.<\/p>\n

The speaker lineup is headlined by Kenyatta, Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC<\/a>) and an LGBTQ+ trailblazer. In 2018, he became the first openly LGBTQ+ person of color elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Four years later, he became the first openly LGBTQ+ person of color to seek a U.S. Senate seat.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And in April 2024, he became the first openly LGBTQ+ person ever nominated for statewide office by a major political party in Pennsylvania, earning nearly 3.1 million votes<\/a> in the General Election.<\/p>\n

Other speakers and panelists include, but aren\u2019t limited to:<\/p>\n

\u2014 U.S. Reps. Lois Frankel and Jared Moskowitz.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Former U.S. Rep. David Jolly and state Rep. Dotie Joseph, who are running for Governor.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Former state Sen. Annette Taddeo and veteran-turned-federal tax abuse prosecutor Earle Ford, who are running for CFO.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 State Rep. Angie Nixon and retired U.S. Army lieutenant and former National Security Council bigwig-turned-federal whistleblower Alex Vindman, who are running for U.S. Senate.<\/p>\n

\u2014 House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell and state Rep. Michele Rayner, who are running for Senate District 14.<\/p>\n

\u2014 State Sens. Kristen Arrington and Shevrin Jones, the latter of whom made history<\/a> as the first openly LGBTQ+ Black state lawmaker.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Democratic Black Caucus of Florida President Armando Grundy-Gomes.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Former Miss America Ericka Dunlap, who made history as the first Black woman crowned Miss Florida in 2003.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Florida Democratic Party First Vice Chair Daniel Henry.<\/p>\n

Reception special guests include state Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, the first openly LGBTQ+ Latino elected to the Legislature; Reps. Rita Harris and Anna Eskamani, the latter of whom is running for Orlando Mayor<\/a>; Orange Democratic Party Chair Samuel Vilchez Santiago; and Hope Community Center Executive Director Felipe Sousa Lazaballet, who is running for House District 42 in Orange County.<\/p>\n

Policy panels include sessions on understanding Florida\u2019s new anti-diversity, equity and inclusion law, LGBTQ+ healthcare in Florida, building power in hostile environments, and fighting for trans lives and futures.<\/p>\n

The caucus is convening as LGBTQ+ rights have eroded in the Sunshine State in recent years.<\/p>\n

In 2022, the GOP-dominated Legislature passed HB 1557, derided by critics as \u201cDon\u2019t Say Gay<\/a>,\u201d which banned classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in grades K-3 and restricted age-appropriate discussion in higher grades.<\/p>\n

A year later, the Legislature expanded those restrictions to all grade levels<\/a> and passed SB 254<\/a>, which banned gender-affirming care for minors and restricted access for adults, making Florida the first state to impose restrictions on transgender adult healthcare.<\/p>\n

This year, lawmakers approved other measures like SB 1134, which bans local government diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives<\/a>, effective Jan. 1, 2027.<\/p>\n

While talks will be policy-heavy, the event\u2019s organizers promise programming will be accessible and inclusive.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether you\u2019re an experienced organizer, a first-time attendee, an elected official, or simply passionate about building a stronger Florida,\u201d a promotional message for the event says, \u201cthere\u2019s something here for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ticket sales for the event appear to be paused<\/a>. For more information, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Florida\u2019s LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus is hosting its 2026 Summer Conference this weekend in Orlando, bringing together candidates, elected…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":336899,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[67180,18523,2217,138726,122052,66780,1813,33776,61956,62693,55224,69614,60697,12665,13762,138727,138728,3854,44337,97821,37576,8876,138729,824,139,141,140,2227,55044,76850,138730,2830,138731,138732],"class_list":["post-336898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-alex-vindman","tag-angie-nixon","tag-anna-eskamani","tag-annette-taddeo","tag-armando-grundy-gomes","tag-carlos-g-smith","tag-david-jolly","tag-democratic-national-committee","tag-dnc","tag-dont-say-gay","tag-dotie-joseph","tag-earle-ford","tag-felipe-sousa-lazaballet","tag-fentrice-driskell","tag-florida-democrats","tag-florida-lgbtq-democratic-caucus","tag-hb-1557","tag-jared-moskowitz","tag-kristen-arrington","tag-lake-nona-wave-hotel","tag-lgbtq-rights","tag-lois-frankel","tag-malcolm-kenyatta","tag-michele-rayner","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-rita-harris","tag-samuel-vilchez-santiago","tag-sb-1134","tag-sb-254","tag-shevrin-jones","tag-summer-conference","tag-transgender-advocacy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=336898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/336899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=336898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=336898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=336898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}