Sarah McBride has become the first openly trans member of the US Congress – just one of many historic moments in a nail-biting Election Day.
McBride, 34, is used to making history at this point. In 2012, she was the first openly trans woman to intern at the White House; in 2016, the first to speak at the Democratic National Convention; and in 2020, the first elected to a State Senate.
Now she’s in the history books again for bagging Delaware’s at-large House of Representatives seat in a thumping victory.
With 90% of votes counted, some 282,000 Delawareans voted for McBride, winning 57.7% compared to Republican John Whalen’s 207,300 votes (42.26%).
She will succeed fellow Democrat Lisa Blunt Rochester, having campaigned on a platform focused on healthcare access, eradicating economic insecurity and universal child care.
‘Thank you, Delaware! Because of your votes and your values, I am proud to be your next member of Congress,’ wrote McBride on X.
‘Delaware has sent the message loud and clear that we must be a country that protects reproductive freedom, that guarantees paid leave and affordable child care for all our families, that ensures that housing and health care are available to everyone and that this is a democracy that is big enough for all of us.’
The Delaware native’s win comes at a time when Republican-led states have pushed trans rights to their limits. This year alone, 45 anti-trans bills were passed, limiting trans people’s access to healthcare, education and legal recognition.
Many have banned gender-affirming healthcare for trans youth or prohibited trans women and girls from playing on female teams. Out of 1.6 million Americans who are trans, about 300,000 are under 18.
Some of the Biden administration’s efforts to power trans rights have been snarled by Republican statehouses’ legal challenges, such as trans rights in schools and federal healthcare programmes.
So for Sarah Kate Ellis, the CEO of the LGBTQ+ advocacy group GLAAD, McBride’s rise to the House is not only groundbreaking for the trans community but ‘our entire country’.
‘And it is no surprise,’ said Ellis on X. ‘Sarah is a spectacular public servant who works her heart out to improve people’s lives.
‘Sarah’s win is a victory for transgender visibility, and should serve as a reminder that trans people should of course be free to be themselves and contribute their talents however they wish.’
HRC, the largest LGBTQ+ civil rights group in the US, agreed. ‘TRAILBLAZER!’ the organisation said on X.
‘We’re so proud, Congresswoman-elect, Sarah McBride! Your story will help LGBTQ+ youth dream bigger, reach higher and change the world.’
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