Delaware elects first trans member of Congress

On By Littum

Sarah McBride has won Delaware’s only seat in the US House of Representatives, MSNBC has called.

McBride has beaten Republican John Whalen III in the Democratic-majority state, making her the first transgender member of Congress. She succeeds Lisa Blunt Rochester, who left office to run for the U.S. Senate and also won.

Related: LIVE: Election Day 2024 coverage of LGBTQ+ issues

McBride became the first trans state senator in the nation when she was elected to the Delaware state Senate in 2020. She also made history as the first trans person to serve in the White House during the Obama administration and the first to address a major party’s national convention in 2016. Her memories from 2018, Tomorrow Will Be Different: Love, Loss, and the Fight for Trans Equalityincludes a foreword written by President Joe Biden.

McBride was in the lead Delaware law prohibits the “gay and trans panic defense” as state senator prohibiting defendants from justifying violent acts based on the discovery of a victim’s LGBTQ+ identity that convinces both Democrats and Republicans to co-sponsor and support the bill. Her efforts have also helped pass paid family and medical leave, gun safety measures and reproductive rights protections.

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– Our 2024 LGBTQ+ Voter Guide
– Kamala Harris ‘first priority’ as president
– Where does Donald Trump stand on LGBTQ+ rights?
– Kamala Harris: Our one-on-one with the vice president

McBride’s historic victory comes at a time when more than 550 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were introduced last year and 80 passed into law, according to American Civil Liberties Union. Now, near the end of 2024, 531 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced, of which 45 have been passed into law. The majority targets transgender people and their rights to health care, bathroom use and sports participation.

McBride told The lawyer in September that “while my candidacy reflects our progress, the urgency of this moment underscores the challenges we face.”

“The negativity and hate we see against the trans community writ large bothers me, but the hate and the insults directed at me specifically don’t bother me more than the broader hate,” she said, adding: “We have need people in federal office who have a proven track record of rolling up their sleeves, diving into the details and bringing people together to deliver lasting change.”