ABC NewsBY: EMILY SHAPIRO, ABC News
(WASHINGTON) — Sarah McBride has won a seat in the Delaware state Senate Tuesday night, making history by becoming the first openly transgender state senator in the United States, according to a projection by The Associated Press.
McBride, 30, will also be the nation’s highest-ranking openly transgender elected official.
McBride tweeted Tuesday night, “I hope tonight shows an LGBTQ kid that our democracy is big enough for them, too.”
The Human Rights Campaign, for which McBride is a spokesperson, took to Twitter to congratulate her.
“We’re so proud of you for this historic win,” the group wrote.
Congratulations to our very own @SarahEMcBride on becoming the first openly transgender state senator nationwide and first trans member of Delaware’s Legislature! We’re so proud of you for this historic win. #ElectionNight #UnityWins pic.twitter.com/ahthxtdgG4
— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) November 4, 2020
This is not the first time McBride has made history.
She interned with President Barack Obama’s administration in 2012, becoming the first openly transgender person to work at the White House, according to The New York Times.
In 2016, McBride gave a speech at the Democratic National Convention, becoming the first transgender person to speak at a major party’s national convention.
McBride also has a connection to former Vice President Joe Biden — she worked for his late son, Beau Biden, when he was Delaware’s attorney general.
Joe Biden wrote the foreword to McBride’s 2018 book, “Tomorrow Will Be Different: Love, Loss, and the Fight for Trans Equality.”
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