FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 14, 2026
Contact: cbeyer@cfequality.org
Center for Freethought Equality PAC Endorses Ten Candidates for State and Local Office
“As humanism becomes more visible in public life, more people are finding the word and embracing it as their own”
WASHINGTON – The Center for Freethought Equality (CFE), the advocacy and political arm of the American Humanist Association, is proud to announce its PAC's latest endorsement of ten candidates running for state and local office in Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Utah and Wisconsin.
This slate brings together humanist, atheist, agnostic and allied leaders fighting to protect church-state separation and safeguard public institutions at the state level:
Eric Gray (Florida State House, District 35): Eric Gray is a Christian and ally.
Kirsten Root (Indiana State Senate, District 21): Kirsten Root is not religious.
Taylor Moreland (Kansas State House, District 7): Taylor Moreland is a Christian.
Jason Taylor (Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District, Subdistrict 10, Nebraska): Jason Taylor is a humanist.
Gale Bailey (New Hampshire State House, Strafford 10): Gale Bailey is religiously unaffiliated.
David Fracht (New Hampshire State House, Grafton 16): David Fracht is an atheist/agnostic.
Bobbi Boudman (New Hampshire State Senate, District 3): Bobbi Boudman is a secular humanist.
Luke Jungmann (New Mexico State House, District 60): Luke Jungmann is nonreligious.
Stacey Pendergraft (Utah State House, District 70): Stacey Pendergraft is a secular humanist.
Alex Corrigan (Wisconsin State Assembly, District 55): Alex Corrigan was raised Catholic.
"What stands out to us about this slate is how many candidates identified as nonreligious, and specifically as humanists," said Fish Stark, Executive Director of the Center for Freethought Equality. "Stacey Pendergraft, Bobbi Boudman and Jason Taylor didn't just check a box for nonreligious or unaffiliated, they explicitly told us they're humanists. People who share our values describe themselves in a variety of ways, including, agnostic, not religious, spiritual but not religious, but the humanist label wasn't as widely known, especially among younger generations. But that's changing. As humanism becomes more visible in public life, more people are finding the word and embracing it as their own. More candidates identifying as humanists, specifically, is a sign of just how far this movement has come, and how much further it's about to go."
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The Center for Freethought Equality advocates for issues the humanist and atheist community cares about like the separation of church and state, protecting civil liberties, and advancing progressive policies. The CFE also has an affiliated political action committee that works to increase the number of open humanists and atheists in public office at all levels of government. A list of federal, state, local and former elected officials who identify with the humanist and atheist community can be found here.