Sarah McBride becomes the first ever openly transgender person elected to US Congress

Democratic Party member Sarah McBride has won Delaware’s only House seat, NBC News projects.

Earlier today (November 5), it was projected McBride has won the seat against the Republican Party’s John Whalen in Delaware’s election for the House of Representatives.

The 34-year-old became the first openly transgender person to serve as state senator when elected to represent Delaware’s 1st Senate District in 2020, and has since become the first openly transgender person to be elected to the US House of Representatives.

McBride took to Twitter after the race was called by NBC News to write: “Thank you, Delaware! Because of your votes and your values, I am proud to be your next member of Congress.

“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.”

Ahead of the election, McBride told Reuters: “Whenever you are first, you often have to try to be the best version that you can. […] But none of them matter if I don’t fulfil the responsibility of just being the best member of Congress that I can be for Delaware.”

Addressing the transgender community, she added: “Anyone who worries that the heart of this country is not big enough to love them should know that they belong […] Our democracy is big enough for all of us.”

McBride’s website notes she grew up in Wilmington and has been ‘advocating for her community for decades’. She came out in 2011, but knew she was transgender for years, later getting into politics in a bid to push for inclusivity.

Prior to being elected to the State Senate, she worked for former Governor Jack Markell, Joe Biden, and served in the Obama-Biden White House alongside serving as the national spokesperson for the nation’s largest LGBTQ equal rights organization the Human Rights Campaign.

President of the Human Rights Campaign, Kelley Robinson, reflected on McBride’s projected win as ‘a landmark achievement on the march toward equality,’ as quoted by NBC News.

Robinson continued: “This historic victory reflects not only increasing acceptance of transgender people in our society, ushered in by the courage of visible leaders like Sarah, but also her dogged work in demonstrating that she is an effective lawmaker who will deliver real results. [She is] reshaping the halls of Congress.”

Her website states: “McBride led the successful effort to pass landmark non-discrimination protections in Delaware and championed legislation that protects vulnerable youth from child abuse and was ultimately awarded the state’s highest civilian honor, the Order of the First State, by former Governor Markell.

“As a state senator, McBride has passed legislation expanding access to health care, requiring mental health and media literacy education in public schools, promoting green technologies, preventing lead poisoning in youth, and protecting workers and families.

“In just her first term, McBride passed the landmark Healthy Delaware Families Act, providing paid family and medical leave to workers throughout the First State and marking the largest expansion of Delaware’s social safety net in decades.

“She currently serves as chair of the Senate Health & Social Services Committee and is a member of the Senate’s Judiciary Committee, Education Committee, Banking, Business, Insurance, and Technology Committee, and Executive Committee.”