Democrat Sarah McBride has made history by becoming the first openly transgender person elected to the US House of Representatives. According to Edison Research, she won the national election in Delaware, Reuters reports.
Prior to the election, McBride stressed that despite the historic nature of her candidacy, her priority is the issues she plans to focus on in Congress.
‘When you’re the first person to run, you often have to try to be the best version of yourself. But none of those factors matter if I don’t do my job, which is to be the best Congressional representative for Delaware,’ she said.
In recent years, the number of bills restricting access to gender affirming medicine for transgender people has increased: in 2023 alone, at least 142 such bills were filed in 37 states.
McBride grew up in Wilmington, Delaware, and came out as transgender in 2011. Since then, she has been actively promoting inclusive policies. When asked about the impact of her election on young people, she said: ‘To those who doubt whether this country will accept them, I want to say that they belong here… Our democracy is big enough for all of us.’
