LGBTQ candidates are seeking office in record numbers this election year, advancing an ongoing sea-change in the nation's political landscape, according to a new report to be released Tuesday. At least 410 LGBTQ candidates ran or are running for office in 2021, a 7% increase over the last odd-numbered election year of 2019, says the report from the LGBTQ Victory Fund. Among the more prominent candidates include India Walton, running for mayor of Buffalo, N.Y. Tyler Titus, a candidate for executive of Erie County, Pa., who is transgender, said they want their campaign to transcend gender identity. "My whole life has been spent on figuring out how to make the system work better for everybody — not just some, but everybody," Titus told the Erie Times-News, part of the USA TODAY Network. "Because when you lift up the most vulnerable, the whole community rises." 📸 Joshua Bessex, @apnews; Jack Hanrahan, Erie Times-News #lgbtq #elections