Sarah McBride becomes first openly transgender person elected to U.S. Congress
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Sarah McBride in Wilmington, Del., on Oct. 16. Photo: Hannah Yoon/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Delaware state Sen. Sarah McBride (D) on Tuesday won her race to become a U.S. representative for the state's only congressional district.
Why it matters: McBride, who was already the highest-ranking transgender elected official in the U.S., is now the first openly transgender person elected to Congress.
- McBride's Republican opponent was John Whalen III, whose campaign focused on illegal immigration and the economy.
- She'll take the seat of Sen.-elect Lisa Blunt Rochester (D), who served since 2017. Blunt Rochester will become the state's first Black senator after winning her race on Tuesday.
Driving the news: McBride took 58% of the votes with 78% of votes reported, per the Associated Press.
- "Thank you, Delaware!" McBride said on X on Tuesday night. "Because of your votes and your values, I am proud to be your next member of Congress."
Zoom in: "People have seen that I have a track record of rolling up my sleeves, digging into the details, bringing Democrats and Republicans together," McBride told Reuters ahead of the election.
- "That's what I've been campaigning on. I'm not running on my identity."
The big picture: McBride has spent her career in community advocacy and government. In 2020, she became the country's first openly transgender state senator.
- She serves as chair of the state Senate's Health and Social Services Committee and is a member of several other panels, including judiciary, education, insurance and technology.
- McBride was previously a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization.
- She was a campaign staffer for former Delaware Gov. Jack Markell and state Attorney General Beau Biden, President Biden's late son. She also served as a White House intern during former President Obama's administration.
Zoom out: Transgender rights, especially among youth, have become a political flashpoint. Proposed anti-LGBTQ+ legislation peaked in 2023, according to a June report from the Human Rights Campaign.
- In 2022, McBride spoke out against a proposed bill in Delaware that would have affected the ability of transgender students in the state to participate in sports consistent with their gender identity.
- "I didn't run for this office to talk about trans identities, I ran because I want to pass paid leave and expand access to health care," she said at the time. "But this legislation goes after kids and that's a step too far."
Flashback: In 2016 at the Democratic National Convention, McBride was the first transgender woman to address a major political party's convention.
- In her speech, she said she came out four years prior while serving as her college student body president.
- "At the time, I was scared," she said. "I worried that my dreams and my identity were mutually exclusive. Since then, I have seen that change is possible."
Go deeper: LGBTQ+ officeholders nearly triple since 2017, report finds
