Sarah McBride Becomes First Openly Transgender Elected To Congress

Amid the success of Republican politicians running on a platform of restricting transgender rights, state Sen. Sarah McBride has become the first openly transgender person elected a Congress member.

On Tuesday, McBride beat out Republican candidate John Whalen III for the state’s only House seat with 57.8% of the vote.

At Delaware’s Democratic election night celebration that night, McBride urged for a new era of politics: “Tonight is a testament to Delawareans that here in our state of neighbors, we judge candidates based on their ideas and not their identities.”

She advised the public, “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.”

In a victory statement on X, McBride thanked her supporters and wrote, “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.

McBride first made headlines in April 2012 when she came out as trans via a campus newspaper at American University, where she was student body president. Later that year, she interned with the Obama administration, becoming the first trans woman to work in the White House. In 2016, she gave a speech at the Democratic National Convention, making her the first trans person to speak at a major political convention.

Such a Democratic victory for Delaware is all the more noteworthy as it comes at a time when Republicans have promised future restrictions of transgender rights, such as seeking to ban minors from accessing gender-confirmation surgery and banish transgender athletes from binary sports categories. 

According to data shared by NBC News on Tuesday, groups backing Republicans have spent over $200 million in television ads attacking trans people.

In the days leading up to the election, the Trump campaign focused its attack ads on the transgender community more than any other topic.