U.S.A.: Sarah McBride becomes first out trans person elected to Congress

Delaware State Senator Sarah McBride has been projected by NBC News to have won the state’s sole House seat, marking her as the first openly transgender person elected to Congress.

The Democrat defeated Republican John Whalen III, securing 57.8% of the vote with 95% counted, according to ‘NBC News’.

“Tonight is a testament to Delawareans that here in our state of neighbors, we judge candidates based on their ideas and not their identities,” McBride said at the Democratic election night celebration in Delaware.

She expressed gratitude to her friends and family, and remembered her late husband, Andy Cray, who passed away from cancer in 2014, shortly after their wedding.

“My time with Andy reinforced for me a simple truth, that hope as an emotion, hope as a phenomenon, only makes sense in the face of hardship,” she remarked. “While at this moment in America’s history, hope sometimes feels hard to come by, we must never forget that we are the beneficiaries of seemingly impossible change.”

McBride’s campaign focused on expanding affordable health care, protecting reproductive rights, and raising the minimum wage. In September, she told NBC News her aim in Congress is to collaborate with colleagues to overcome partisan deadlock and pass legislation, a reputation she built during her tenure in Delaware’s Senate. As a first-term senator, she helped enact universal paid family and medical leave across the state.

Jake Carpenter, who works in finance for a college near Lincoln, Delaware, met McBride at a meet and greet in August. He was impressed when she explained her achievements in the state Senate. “She won me over,” he said.

“I knew that she was trans, and being gay myself, I wanted to see someone like me, someone part of my community, be successful,” Carpenter added. “She’s like a hero to me.”

He campaigned for her in Sussex County, the state’s only majority Republican county, persuading six Republicans to support McBride.

As an adviser for an LGBTQ+ club at the college, Carpenter highlighted the significant impact her win has for his trans students.

Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, called McBride’s victory “a landmark achievement on the march toward equality,” noting it reflects both growing acceptance of trans individuals and McBride’s effectiveness as a lawmaker.

McBride has previously made history, notably in 2012 when she came out as trans in American University’s student newspaper and became the first out trans woman to intern at the White House with the Obama administration, as detailed in her memoir, “Tomorrow Will Be Different: Love, Loss, and the Fight for Trans Equality.”

In 2016, she was the first transgender person to speak at a major political convention with her speech at the Democratic National Convention. In 2020, she became the first openly trans state senator in the U.S.A. when elected to represent Delaware’s 1st Senate District.

McBride's interest in politics began early, working on campaigns like Beau Biden’s, and has culminated in Joe Biden writing the foreword to her memoir.

Reflecting on her voting experience, McBride remarked on the significance of voting for Kamala Harris for president, Lisa Blunt Rochester for Senate, both historic firsts for their respective positions in Delaware, and herself.

“That ticket is not an ultimate destination, but it is a reflection of how far we’ve come, that no matter who you are, what you look like, where you come from or the gender with which you identify, that you can live your truth and dream big dreams all at the same time,” McBride said. “It’s not the end, but it’s the beginning.”

Her historic election occurs amidst an election season where Republican campaigns have increasingly used anti-transgender rhetoric and advertisements. The GOP spent over $200 million (approximately £155 million) on ads targeting trans individuals, according to AdImpact. Notably, former President Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, have engaged in such rhetoric on the campaign trail, with negative mentions of gender or sexuality occurring in several speeches at the Republican National Convention.