Jordan Willow Evans

Jordan Evans
OccupationPolitician
Years active2016-2022
Known forBeing the first and only openly transgender woman Republican Party elected official.
Political partyRepublican

Jordan Willow Evans is an American politician who was the only openly transgender Republican Party elected official in the United States.

Evans said she first tried coming out as trans in 2013. "I ended up going back into the closet," she told Cosmopolitan. Eventually, she began transitioning to female in 2015–2016.[1][2]

As of 2016, she was Republican Town Committee secretary in Charlton, Massachusetts and elected trustee of the local library.[3][4] She was elected Town Constable of Charlton in November 2017.[5] She was elected again to the Dudley-Charlton Regional School Committee in 2020.[6] She was included in an unsuccessful recall of her regional school committee by a local group known as Dudley Charlton United led by Carroll Sue Rehm of Florida concerned about sex education curriculum, critical race theory, and mask mandates in the district.[7][8]

Evans left the Log Cabin Republicans in August 2019 after criticizing them in an op-ed in The Advocate for endorsing President Donald Trump's re-election.[9][10] However, she remained associated with the Republican Party. In 2020, she ran unsuccessfully for Massachusetts Republican State Committee Woman.[11] Her gender identity drew questions from local conservative press over whether she would be seated by the Massachusetts Republican Party if she won.[12]

  1. ^ Rebecca Nelson (April 17, 2017), "3 Trans Women on Why They Are Proud to Be Conservatives", Cosmopolitan
  2. ^ "Massachusetts Elected Official: Being Transgender And Being Republican Are Compatible". Freedom for All Americans. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  3. ^ Charlie Baker (April 14, 2016), Transgender Advocates: Governor Baker, Please Take A Stand, Boston: WGBH
  4. ^ Lou Chibbaro Jr. (January 23, 2017), "Trump team, campaign officials attend Log Cabin Party", Washington Blade, [A]ttending was Jordan Evans, the nation's only Republican transgender elected official.
  5. ^ Alison King (November 17, 2017), Transgender GOP Woman Elected Constable, NBC 10 Boston (WBTS-CD)
  6. ^ Bleau, Jason (2020-06-19). "Rydlak, Koronis elected to Board of Selectmen" (PDF). Charlton Villager. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-06-18.
  7. ^ Chamer, Jeff A. (2022-01-26). "Telegram & Gazette". www.telegram.com. Retrieved 2022-06-18.
  8. ^ "Dudley-Charlton Regional School District recall, Massachusetts (2022)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2022-06-18.
  9. ^ Aviles, Gwen (August 27, 2019). "Gay Republican group's executive director resigns after Trump endorsement". NBC News.
  10. ^ Baume, Matt (August 27, 2019), "Gay Republican Group Leader Quits Over Trump Endorsement", Out
  11. ^ "PD43+ » 2020 Republican State Committee Woman Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire and Middlesex District". PD43+. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  12. ^ Joyce, Tom (2020-03-02). "State Committee Races May Hold Key To Future of MassGOP". NewBostonPost. Retrieved 2022-06-18.