Sarah McBride, 30, a Democratic LGBTQ Activist has won a senatorial seat and becomes the first transgender state senator in the U.S. after defeating her rival Steve Washington, a Republican. She is now bound to represent Delaware’s 1st Senate District.
“I hope tonight shows an LGBTQ kid that our democracy is big enough for them, too,” McBride tweeted on Tuesday night.
“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,” she added.
Incumbent Democrat Harris McDowell had endorsed McBride after not opting for re-election in 44 years. The District of Delaware covers Bellefonte, Claymont, and parts of Wilmington — the state’s largest city.
Before running for the 2020 US election, McBride wrestled with identity issues since childhood but her passion for politics grew instead. By the time she was 17, McBride became a leader of the Delaware chapter of Young Democrats and worked on Jack Markell’s campaign that introduced her to events.
In 2009, McBride enrolled at American University in Washington and was elected as student government president. During her term, she advocated for gender-neutral housing on campus and the creation of a Sexuality and Queer Studies minor.
During her college years, she worked as an intern with the Obama administration and came out as a transgender in 2012 after becoming the headline in their University newspaper.
McBride was the first transgender woman to work in the White House. In 2016, she was also first to speak at a national party’s convention as a transgender at the stage of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
Aside from McBride, there are several LGBTQ who are also elected in the 2020 US election, including Taylor Small, 26, Vermont legislator; Stephanie Byers, 57, Kansa’s legislator; Brianna Titone, reelected Colorado’s State House of Representatives; and Lisa Bunker, reelected New Hampshire State House of Representatives.
“The number of transgender people currently serving in state legislatures is in the single digits,” said LGBTQ Victory Fund, a national organization that supports LGBTQ at all levels of the government.
