FABIAN NELSON, born on this date, is a Mississippi Democrat  who made history as the state’s first out LGBTQ elected official after winning a primary election runoff in 2023.

Nelson is a 38-year-old realtor from Byram, Mississippi. He defeated Byram Alderwoman Roshunda Harris-Allen, a professor at Tougaloo College in Jackson, in the Democratic primary runoff election for the state’s 66th House District.

The seat’s current incumbent, De’Keither Stamps, is running for the state’s Public Service Commission in this year’s off-year elections. 

Because no Republicans filed for the general election, Nelson won handily and was sworn in before Jan. 2, when Mississippi’s annual legislative session kicks off.

Nelson is the first out LGBTQ person elected to any office in Mississippi, which loses its distinction as one of only two states where an LGBTQ person has never held public office. 

“I still think I’m in a dream,” Nelson told NBC News. “I’m still trying to process it and take it in. It’s still shocking me, I have to be honest.”

In his bid for office, Nelson was endorsed by both the Human Rights Campaign and the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund.