Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization, has endorsed TJ Cox in California’s 21st Congressional District. The son of immigrants, Cox is a community development leader, health care advocate and entrepreneur running to represent the Central Valley district, which is one of the most competitive in the country after Hillary Clinton carried it in 2016 by 15.5 percentage points.

“California’s 21st district deserves a Congressman who will fight for everyone in the Central Valley — no matter where they came from, who they are or whom they love,” said Equality California Executive Director Rick Zbur. “TJ Cox is an outstanding candidate whose family has a long history of fighting for equality and social justice, and we’re proud to support his campaign.”

Republican incumbent Congressman David Valadao (CA-21) scored just 25 percent on Equality California’s 2017 Legislative Scorecard, indicating an anti-LGBTQ equality voting record. Unlike Valadao, Cox would fight to protect Medicaid, to pass the Equality Act and provide federal nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ Americans and to protect our communities from gun violence by instituting common sense gun safety laws.

“I am proud to receive the endorsement of Equality California,” said TJ Cox. “Our LGBTQ sons, daughters, brothers and sisters deserve equal rights and protections — from working without fear of discrimination to serving openly in our military without fear of reprisal. In Congress, I will stand up and fight for those rights and freedoms.”

Cox lives in Fresno with his wife Kathleen Murphy, M.D., a pediatric intensive care physician, and their four children. His mother Perla (Lola) DeCastro, an immigrant from the Philippines, was a pioneer for social justice and served as one of Nevada’s first equal opportunity employment officers. TJ continued his family’s tradition of service by founding the Central Valley New Market Tax Credit Fund, which invests in socially and economically disadvantaged communities throughout the Central Valley — raising and investing $65 million and creating over 1,500 Central Valley jobs.

California’s 21st District stretches from the Fresno suburbs in the north to Bakersfield in the south. The district is heavily agricultural, 70 percent Latino and over 200,000 residents were born outside the United States. Even after Clinton carried the district by a wide margin in November 2016, Valadao has voted with President Trump over 98 percent of the time.