Senator Sarah McBride of Delaware won NBC News Projects’ lone seat in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, making her the first openly transgender person elected to Congress.
McBride, a Democrat, defeated Republican John Whalen III, capturing 57.6% of the vote with 63% of the vote secured.
McBride’s top priorities during her time in Congress were expanding access to affordable health care, protecting reproductive rights and raising the minimum wage. She told NBC News in September that her goal in Congress was to work with colleagues to break partisan gridlock and actually pass legislation — which she became known for during her time in the Delaware Senate. During her first term, she helped pass universal paid family and medical leave across the state.
Jake Carpenter, 42, who works in finance for a university near Lincoln, Delaware, said he met McBride at a meet and greet in August, where he asked her, “What did you promise, and how did you done that?’ She walked him through the policies she worked on in the Senate, and “she won me over,” he said.
“I knew she was transgender, and being gay myself, I wanted to see someone like me, someone who was part of my community, succeed,” Carpenter said. “She’s like a hero to me.”
He knocked on dozens of doors in Sussex County, the state’s only Republican county, to talk to people about McBride’s platform. He said he convinced six Republicans to vote for McBride.
He added that he is an advisor to an LGBTQ club at the university where he works, and “for my trans students, this is a really big deal.”
Kelley Robinson, the president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group, described McBride’s victory as “a milestone on the path to equality.”
“This historic victory reflects not only the growing acceptance of transgender people in our society, ushered in by the courage of visible leaders like Sarah, but also her dogged work to demonstrate that she is an effective lawmaker who will deliver real results,” Robinson said . a statement, adding that HRC is proud to see McBride, who previously served as the organization’s national press secretary, “reshaping the halls of Congress.”
Senator Sarah McBride of Delaware won NBC News Projects’ lone seat in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, making her the first openly transgender person elected to Congress.
McBride, a Democrat, defeated Republican John Whalen III, capturing 57.6% of the vote with 63% of the vote secured.
McBride’s top priorities during her time in Congress were expanding access to affordable health care, protecting reproductive rights and raising the minimum wage. She told NBC News in September that her goal in Congress was to work with colleagues to break partisan gridlock and actually pass legislation — which she became known for during her time in the Delaware Senate. During her first term, she helped pass universal paid family and medical leave across the state.
Jake Carpenter, 42, who works in finance for a university near Lincoln, Delaware, said he met McBride at a meet and greet in August, where he asked her, “What did you promise, and how did you done that?’ She walked him through the policies she worked on in the Senate, and “she won me over,” he said.
“I knew she was transgender, and being gay myself, I wanted to see someone like me, someone who was part of my community, succeed,” Carpenter said. “She’s like a hero to me.”
He knocked on dozens of doors in Sussex County, the state’s only Republican county, to talk to people about McBride’s platform. He said he convinced six Republicans to vote for McBride.
He added that he is an advisor to an LGBTQ club at the university where he works, and “for my trans students, this is a really big deal.”
Kelley Robinson, the president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group, described McBride’s victory as “a milestone on the path to equality.”
“This historic victory reflects not only the growing acceptance of transgender people in our society, ushered in by the courage of visible leaders like Sarah, but also her dogged work to demonstrate that she is an effective lawmaker who will deliver real results,” Robinson said . a statement, adding that HRC is proud to see McBride, who previously served as the organization’s national press secretary, “reshaping the halls of Congress.”
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
