US Democratic Congressional Candidate Admits Hiding LGBTQ Position Due to Muslim Voters

Melissa Chaudhry, a Democratic candidate for the US House of Representatives in Washington state, stated that she intentionally omitted her support for LGBTQ rights from her campaign website to avoid alienating Muslim voters. The politician shared this during an interview with the local publication The Stranger .

Responding to journalists’ questions about why her website made no mention of LGBTQ rights, Chaudhry said: “Because a lot of Muslims do not feel that way, unfortunately.” She added that she “was careful about her Muslim constituents.”

Following the publication of the interview, the Washington State Stonewall Democrats, the LGBTQ caucus of the Democratic Party, urged organizations to rescind their endorsements of Chaudhry.

In response to the criticism, Chaudhry stated that she has always advocated for equality, and a section mentioning the protection of LGBTQ rights subsequently appeared on her website. During the interview, Chaudhry also noted that, if elected to Congress, she intends to switch parties and become the first representative of the Green Party in the US legislature.