Sarah McBride becomes first openly transgender person to win a seat in Congress

The Delaware native won the state’s single seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. She will replace fellow Democrat Lisa Blunt Rochester, who also won her race and made history on Tuesday night, becoming Delaware’s first female senator.

McBride won her race with 57.7% of the vote, while opponent Republican John Whalen III came in with 42.3%. She was heavily favored leading up to the race, having raised over $3.5 million throughout her campaign. Whalen had reportedly raised under $7,000 as of mid-October, according to the AP.  

“I think that folks know that I’m personally invested in equality as an LGBTQ person but my priorities are going to be affordable child care, paid family medical leave, housing and healthcare, and reproductive freedom,” McBride said in an interview with CBS Sunday Morning two weeks ago. 

The 34-year-old politician has been long-involved in government. She was an intern at the White House in 2012 during former President Barack Obama’s second term. That internship took place as McBride got her bachelor’s degree from American University where she was studying government and American politics. McBride made headlines in 2020 when she won her seat in the state senate, and became the first openly transgender politician elected to that role as well. She has been serving in that position since, focusing on education, families, and Medicaid throughout her time in the state. 

She thanked her supporters on X after she won. “Delaware has sent the message loud and clear that we must be a country that protect reproductive freedom, that guarantees paid lead 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,” the post read.