Sarah McBride to become the first transgender state senator in U.S. history
Sarah McBride has won her Delaware state Senate race, poising her to become the first and only openly transgender state senator in the U.S. and the country’s highest-ranking transgender official.
Ms. McBride, 30, a Democrat and an activist, handily defeated Steve Washington, a Republican, in the First State Senate District, which includes Wilmington and leans heavily left.
“I hope tonight shows an LGBTQ kid that our democracy is big enough for them, too,” McBride, 30, tweeted Tuesday night after the election was called. “As Delaware continues to face the Covid crisis, it’s time to get to work to invest in the policies that will make a difference for working families.”
McBride, a former spokesperson for the LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, made national headlines in 2012 when she stepped down as American University’s student body president and came out as trans in the school’s student newspaper.
While still in college, she interned with the Obama administration, becoming the first out transgender woman to work in the White House, according to her campaign announcement.
McBride then became the first trans person to speak at a major political convention in 2016, when she addressed Democrats in Philadelphia.
The Human Rights Campaign‘s president, Alphonso David, lauded McBride‘s victory in a statement on Tuesday night.
“Tonight, Sarah made history not just for herself but for our entire community,” David said. “She gives a voice to the marginalized as a representative and an advocate. This victory, the first of what I expect to be many in her career, shows that any person can achieve their dream, no matter their gender identity or sexual orientation.“