The Democratic Lesbian & Gay Caucus of Miami-Dade County (DLGC) has elected Chip Arndt, of Miami Beach, as president. He is well-known for winning CBS Television's "The Amazing Race." The DLGC is chartered under the auspices of the Florida Democratic Party (FDP). Its mission is to promote lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues within the Party, to educate voters on LGBT issues, and to assist the Party in electing Democrats to local, state, and national offices.

DLGC is one of 11 chapters of the Florida GLBT Democratic Caucus, the statewide umbrella organization under the FDP representing the GLBT community. The Miami-Dade Caucus is one of the largest in Florida, representing over 485,000 potential LGBT voters, and has historically played a major role in electing local and state LGBT-friendly Democratic candidates. "Going into the critical 2006-midterms, I'm eager to work with Caucus members to invigorate LGBT voters to elect candidates supportive of issues vital to our lives." Arndt said.

Arndt, a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Business School, and former Wall Street investment banker with Morgan Stanley, is the Executive Vice President for Business Development of Merchant Advantage, a Miami-based eCommerce software company. Competing as an openly gay man in the television show "The Amazing Race", his positive image inspired many others to come out, while demonstrating the diversity of the gay community to the Emmy-winning reality program's millions of viewers. Arndt's passion for civic and political advocacy began at Yale. He was chairman and founder of the Annual Harvard Business, Law, and Kennedy School of Government Debate, and president of both the Leadership and Ethics Forum and the business school's Gay and Lesbian Student Association. He interned for Philadelphia Mayor (now Governor) Ed Rendell, and was involved in the political campaigns of U.S. Senators Joe Lieberman and Chris Dodd and former Governor Lowell Weicker in his home state of Connecticut. He sponsored a successful fundraiser for Presidential candidate John Kerry, and worked extensively to get out the 2004 LGBT vote. More recently, he has raised funds for gay New York Attorney General candidate Sean Patrick Maloney.

"Express Gay News" named Arndt "Best Local Male Hero" for using "his fame and good fortune to help others" in response to his round of charity events for the LGBT community. He has hosted fundraisers for the Point Foundation, the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, and the Matthew Shepard Foundation, for whom he is a strategic advisor. He has been spokesperson for New York's Braking the Cycle and Miami's SMART AIDS rides, as well as participating in events sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign and the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.

As the former Public Relations & Marketing Manager for Care Resource, South Florida's oldest and largest HIV/AIDS services organization, he produced AIDS Walk Miami, added Dining Out for Life to their list of major fundraisers, and spearheaded the 21st annual White Party. Under his leadership, attendees' abuse of crystal meth at the famous week-long event was actively discouraged for the first time. Arndt added, "Together with our progressive allies from other constituencies, we will continue to advance and strengthen the civil liberties of everyone in this great state, where no one should be a second-class citizen, and where each of us is guaranteed social justice and equal opportunity."