Delaware state senate candidate Sarah McBride, the national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), won her Democratic primary race on Tuesday night, setting her up to be the first openly transgender person to become a state senator.
“Tonight sends a powerful signal that candidates like me can win,” McBride tweeted. “Everyone deserves to see themselves in government, to follow their dreams, and to be accepted by their community. I will never take for granted the honor of carrying that mantle.”
With the seat in a safely blue district, McBride is expected to win the general election come November.
There are currently four openly transgender state lawmakers, all of whom are House legislators: Reps. Lisa Bunker (D) and Gerri Cannon (D) of New Hampshire, Rep. Brianna Titone (D) of Colorado, and Del. Dania Roem (D) of Virginia.
McBride has close ties to Democratic presidential candidate and fellow Delaware ex-lawmaker Joe Biden, who described transgender activism as “the civil rights issue of our time” in a forward he wrote for her memoir in 2017.
