Sarah McBride is running for Congress with the support of LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations.
McBride, the first transgender-identifying person to be elected to state senate, has served in the Delaware Senate since January 2021 representing Delaware’s 1st District.
“My commitment is to the people in Delaware who aren’t seen,” says McBride in a newly released video launching the congressional bid. “Everyone deserves a member of Congress who sees them and who respects them.”
McBride included championing gun safety, defending reproductive rights, and passing paid family leave on a list of legislative accomplishments.
“I have the experience and the determination to deliver bold change in Congress,” tweeted McBride on June 26.
The Human Rights Campaign PAC, Equality PAC, National Center for Transgender Equality Action Fund, LPAC, and LGBTQ+ Victory Fund announced a joint endorsement for McBride, noting the politician’s “ability to find common ground” and “commitment to building coalitions.”
“Representation is a pillar of American democracy. In a time when transgender people are being attacked in statehouses across the country, Sarah McBride will represent us in our nation's capital and fiercely advocate for her constituents,” stated Josie Caballero, Director of U.S. Trans Survey and Special Projects, NCTE Action Fund. “Having an openly transgender person in Congress will bring a critical perspective to policy discussions that impact all of our lives.”
Prior to joining the state government, McBride has worked as a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign and spoke at the Democratic National Convention in 2016. While enrolled at American University, McBride worked for the Governor of Delaware Jack Markell in 2008 and for President Joe Biden’s late son Beau Biden in 2010 during his time as Attorney General. McBride later interned in the White House during Barack Obama’s administration.
McBride is also a member of the Board of Directors of Equality Delaware and led “the successful effort to add gender identity and expression” to the state's nondiscrimination laws, per HRC.
In a thread accompanying the campaign video, McBride argued that since the 2020 election “the far-right has tried to use the LGBTQ community as a scapegoat for their policy failures.”
“As they’ve increased their attacks on families and kids, it has become even clearer: for our democracy to work, it needs to include all of us,” the 32-year-old wrote. “If elected, I’ll be the first openly trans member in Congress.”
The ActBlue fundraising page set up for McBride’s campaign warns “MAGA and FOX News conservatives are lining up to attack her” because McBride identifies as transgender.
Delaware is in the middle of a changing of the political guards as several long-time elected officials look to step into new positions.
Senator Tom Carper, a Democrat, announced in May that he will retire at the end of his term – opening his seat for the first time since 2001.
On June 21, Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester announced she would seek to replace Carper, who announced his plans to support Rochester, a former intern in his Congressional office.
Rochester has been in office since 2017.
Local10 reports that she “has sponsored 89 bills and resolutions during her House tenure, many aimed at improving or expanding access to health care, especially for women and minorities” and that the “only measure sponsored by Blunt Rochester to become law is a resolution naming a Wilmington post office in honor of Mary Ann Shadd Cary, a 19th-century anti-slavery activist and publisher.”
