Sarah McBride, a transgender activist and the national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign, has announced her campaign for the Delaware State Senate.
McBride is running for the state’s 1st senate district to replace Democrat incumbent Harris McDowell following his retirement. If elected, she will be both the first openly trans state senator in the country and the first openly trans person elected in Delaware.
I’ve spent my life standing up so that people can have dignity, peace of mind, and a fair shot at staying afloat and getting ahead. Our neighbors still need someone to fight for them. That's why I'm running for State Senate. https://t.co/09uNOfRDVI pic.twitter.com/LXbxvmbGeV
— Sarah McBride (@SarahEMcBride) July 9, 2019
“[Delaware] is a special place because we’re all neighbors here,” she says in her announcement video. “We take pride in each other’s accomplishments. We feel each other’s pain. We’re there for each other when it counts.”
McBride explained to Gay Star News that she was running for the community she loved.
“I was born and raised in Wilmington’s Highlands neighborhood,” she said. “I really love this community – some of my best friends today are the same people that I lived next door to. I’m running to give back to that community.”
McBride has continually made history as a transgender woman; she became the first openly trans person to work in the White House when she interned in the Obama administration’s Office of Public engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs in 2012 and the first trans person to speak at a major political party’s convention when she spoke at the Democratic National Convention in 2016.
“Sarah McBride is a tireless trailblazer and passionate advocate who has changed countless hearts and minds all across this country,” HRC President Chad Griffin said of McBride. “I’m excited to see her launch this historic campaign and can’t wait to watch her help build a better Delaware for all in the State Senate.”