HRC’s Changing Roles

The Community’s Political Action Committee (cont’d)

The Human Rights Campaign Fund grew quickly during its early years. During the 1982 election cycle, the fund contributed $140,000 to 118 congressional candidates, 81% of whom won their races.

Sam Gejdenson was one of the first candidates to receive HRCF support. The 1982 letter shown here describes HRCF as a new PAC.

HRCF’s newsletter reflected on this early success:

“Who believed, even then, that by 1982 we would be major players in the national political arena; that we would have successfully moved our struggle from the streets to the mainstream of American electoral politics; that the gay community would have one of the largest independent political action committees (PACs) in the country, the Human Rights Campaign Fund?” (HRCF Newsletter, 1982)

The newsletter continued with praise for its members who had “correctly realized that electoral politics is a serious and costly business which demands enormous commitment, large sums of money and plain hard work.”

In 2005, donors contributed a record $35.9 million to support HRC’s varied activities, and HRC endorsed 201 congressional candidates. The average success rate has been 90%.

Steve Endean, HRCF treasurer. Letter to Sam Gejdenson. October 14, 1982. HRC Records.
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Human Rights Campaign Fund. Campaign Contributions, 1982. HRC Records.
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Human Rights Campaign Fund. Federal Disbursements for 1986 Elections. HRC Records.
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