With Primary Victory, Sarah McBride Is Poised to Become First Openly Transgender Member of Congress

Tuesday’s results in Delaware’s Democratic primary handed the LGBTQ community a major victory.

State Senator Sarah McBride has won the Democratic primary for Delaware’s only seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, putting her in a position to make history as the first openly transgender person elected to Congress.

“With a heart full of hope — and thanks to the tens of thousands of Delawareans who went to the polls — tonight I am proud to be the Democratic nominee for Delaware’s only seat in the United States House of Representatives,” McBride wrote. Instagram after her race was announced.

The 34-year-old lawmaker is already the highest-ranking openly transgender elected official in the country. Still, she says that’s just an aspect of who she is and isn’t the reason she’s running.

“I’m not running to make history, I’m running to make history for the people of Delaware,” McBride said. “The only identity I want to be known for is my identity as a proud Delawarean.”

McBride will face James Whalen III, a retired state trooper and construction company owner from Millsboro who won the GOP primary. Democrats have held the seat since 2010.

mcbride won Tuesday’s primary over businessmen Earl Cooper and Elias Weir, neither of whom were considered grave competitors or reported raising money for their campaigns. Cooper is a political novice, while Weir finished last in the 2016 congressional primary with less than 1 percent of the vote.

In the meantime, McBride has raised nearly $3 million. She gained national recognition at the 2016 Democratic National Convention as the first openly transgender person to speak at a major party convention in the United States. Since then, she has raised a ton of supporters from local unions to national groups like the Sierra Club and The Giffords (Gabby Giffords’ gun-control PAC) to endorse celebrities like Delaware native Aubrey Plaza. President Joe Biden wrote the foreword to McBride’s 2018 memories.

The House seat is being vacated by Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, a Philadelphia native who is unopposed in the primary as she seeks the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Democratic Sen. Tom Carper, who has held the seat since 2001. If elected in November, Blunt Rochester would be a state senator first black US senator.

Transgender and LGBTQ issues have become a polarizing issue this election cycle. Lawmakers in Republican-led states have pushed for restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors, access to restrooms, representation in books, drag shows and the roster of sports teams. The Biden administration has pushed to expand transgender rights in schools and federal health programs.

Vice President Kamala Harris and her vice presidential candidate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, continue to advocate for LGBTQ rights. Walz has faced mixed reactions from within the party for his work to include menstrual hygiene products in public school restrooms, regardless of gender. Under Walz, Minnesota was one of the first states to protect gender-affirming care through implementing regulationwhile other states have banned or restricted access to it.

This article contains information from the Associated Press.