‘We did it.’ Delaware elects nation’s first openly transgender state senator

For the first time, Delaware will have an openly transgender state senator.

Sarah McBride, 30, won the state Senate seat in Delaware on Tuesday. When sworn in, she will be the “highest-ranking openly transgender official in the country,” Politico reported.

“We did it. We won the general election. Thank you, thank you, thank you,” McBride tweeted. “I hope tonight shows an LGBTQ kid that our democracy is big enough for them, too.”

McBride defeated Republican Steve Washington to win the seat in the largely Democratic district, the Associated Press reported.

She previously was a White House intern under former President Barack Obama, according to the AP. In 2013, she joined the board of directors of Equality Delaware, where she advocated for nondiscrimination legislation, her website said.

McBride is currently a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ advocacy organization in the country, according to her website.

Her campaign focused on health care, paid family and medical leave, universal pre-K and criminal justice reform, according to Vox.

“There are currently four openly transgender U.S. state legislators: Virginia state Del. Danica Roem; Colorado state Rep. Brianna Titone; and New Hampshire state Reps. Lisa Bunker and Gerri Cannon,” Politico reported.

This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 7:08 PM with the headline "‘We did it.’ Delaware elects nation’s first openly transgender state senator."