Casey and Fetterman have a high percentage of LGBTQ staffers. We talked to some about why that matters.

Kennedy O’Dell has a picture with Sen. Bob Casey and a bunch of her coworkers at the Philadelphia Pride parade last year on her desk of her Capitol Hill office. It’s a reminder, as she juggles work on transportation projects, housing policy, and other daily happenings in a U.S. Senate office, of one of her favorite memories on the job.

“At any office, you always wonder what share of yourself you can bring and that moment was so important to me because I was able to bring my whole self,” O’Dell said. “The whole organization was invested in creating a place where I can talk about my girlfriend. I can be happy and settled where I work.”

Casey’s office continues to be the Senate office with the highest percentage of LGBTQ staffers, according to a diversity survey by the Senate Democrats released last week. According to the survey, 30% of Casey’s staff of about 60 people — based in D.C. and around the state — identify as LGBTQ. That’s down just slightly from when Casey topped the list at 32% last year.

Pennsylvania’s junior senator, Sen. John Fetterman, ranked third with 28% of his staff of about 50 people identifying as LGBTQ. Sen. Patty Murray (D., Washington) was second with 29%.

Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia had the lowest LGBTQ representation at 0%. Senate Republicans did not conduct a diversity survey.

The surveys, which were voluntary, also asked about gender and ethnicity. Casey’s office is 20% Black, 5% Latino, and 7% Asian. Fetterman’s is 38%.

Senators receive funding relative to the population of their state, so Pennsylvania’s Senate offices rank middle to high in terms of staff size.

Fetterman tweeted out a meme of Jennifer Coolidge from White Lotus to mark the moment, re-dubbing the subtitled quote from, “These gays, they’re trying to murder me,” to, “These gays, they’re trying to run my Senate office.”

And Biden Commerce Department official (and Philadelphian) Jonathan Lovitz, former head of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, might have summed it up best with: “You can’t spell padam without PA.” (Singer Kylie Minogue, who has a song called “Padam Padam,” has said the word refers to the sound of a heartbeat; it has been adopted by the LGBTQ community as a more general pride rallying call.)

LGBTQ representation in the Senate has grown in recent years as LGBTQ rights come under repeated attack.

The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest organization dedicated to LGBTQ rights, declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the United States last month, citing laws it deemed discriminatory in every single state.

There’s also been an uptick in proposed anti-LGBTQ legislation.

On Thursday, House Democrats blasted Republicans for attempting to pull funding from LGBTQ organizations, including the William Way Center in Philadelphia.

“This is completely unacceptable,” U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans tweeted. “The GOP shows no shame and their bigotry is out there for all to see.”

The Inquirer talked with some of Casey and Fetterman’s staffers about topping the list of LGBTQ staffers and how representation has made a difference in their jobs on Capitol Hill.

O’Dell was born and raised in Kansas and worked in field organizing for Sen. Jon Tester in Montana. With Casey, she advises on housing and economic development policy.

“We talk about the way that identities overlap a lot and when it comes to talking about increased risks of homelessness, there’s a lot of populations at increased risk there. And members of the LGBTQ community are one of those groups,” O’Dell said.

“Any time that work comes up, it does really resonate with me because I was so lucky to have such a supportive family, but if I’d been born five houses over, I could have been in a much different situation.”

Before joining Fetterman’s staff, Easton worked for Sen. Patty Murray and recalled looking over an appropriations bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security during former President Donald Trump’s administration. An early version included a provision on detaining transgender asylum seekers. Easton flagged it for Murray, who intervened with the Republican sponsor, ultimately getting the program scrapped.

“I know that because I was there, something did happen,” Easton said. “LGBTQ people, queer people, especially, have a hyper awareness about society because we just kind of have to, it’s survival instinct. I think when you have an office that’s full of people with that perspective, it creates a more thoughtful approach to public policy.”

Easton called Fetterman “ahead of many of his white, cis-gendered peers,” on LGBTQ rights, having made headlines for officiating the first same-sex weddings in Braddock. Fetterman insisted that the staff put up a Pride flag shortly after moving into their office in the Russell Building, named for former Sen. Richard Brevard Russell Jr., a Democrat from Georgia and an outspoken opponent of racial integration, anti-lynching bills, and school desegregation.

“I do find it a little empowering knowing that I’m a queer Black person and I’m sitting in a Senate office named for a virulent racist,” Easton said. “I’m in a place that I was never supposed to be, making decisions I was never supposed to be privy to, much less influencing. That’s empowering to me, but that doesn’t mean I still don’t get demoralized. ... The story of our community is always pushing forward and demanding more and pushing for better. ... It’s our turn to do the thing.”

“On a personal level, it matters because it’s an incredibly supportive and warm environment, and that goes a long way in quality of life and being professionally happy,” Cozze said.

Cozze, who was raised in the Lehigh Valley, said she’s in a unique position as someone who works in constituent services to talk and respond to Pennsylvanians. “There are a lot of divisive issues that have come up in the last year, like the Respect for Marriage Act. ... We get an outpouring of calls from constituents who are scared and nervous and we field those calls and we talk to those constituents, and it’s easy to sympathize with them because I have the same fears and concerns.”

Martin, who was raised in South Texas but has family roots in Harrisburg, also does constituent service work. After the Chambersburg Borough Council repealed an LGBTQ antidiscrimination ordinance, he organized a roundtable meeting with Casey and concerned local businesses about how to create a welcoming community following the law’s repeal.

Martin also flagged for his boss the Central York School District book ban debate during the heat of school board elections in 2022. Casey and the office spoke up on social media in defense of students opposing the ban.

“The community is strong,” Martin said. “We’ve been through these moments before and we’ll continue to bounce back, but it’s as important as any time to be doing this work.”