Current State Sen. Sarah McBride has been elected to serve as the lone representative for Delaware in the U.S. House of Representatives, beating out Republican candidate Robert Whalen III. McBride’s election makes history, as she will be the very first openly transgender person to serve in Congress.
Although McBride’s campaign and victory in this election was remarkably historic, that is not why she ran, she says.
“I didn’t run to make history. I ran to make a difference for my state and this country. I think this is a powerful message that Delawareans are fair-minded and that our democracy is big enough for all of us,” she told AP News.
The Representative-elect is widely known for her LGBTQ+ activism work, but her priorities as senator for Delaware’s first state district and in her campaign for the at-large representative role include expanding healthcare access and cutting costs, protecting reproductive freedom, promoting sustainability and protecting the environment, expanding access to voting and gun control.
Delaware’s seat in the House has been maintained by a Democrat for more than a decade, as is evident with McBride’s clear win over Whalen, securing nearly 58% of votes over Whalen’s 42%.
After such a heavy and unsettling election, McBride’s election to Congress feels like such a bright spot of hope. This is what our country should be working toward more of, not away from. Representation is so incredibly important, especially on a national level like Congress. Tasked with passing the laws that dictate the future of our country, the House and the Senate should be an inclusive body and reflective of the American people.
The 118th Congress, spanning from January of 2023 to January of 2025, currently holds a record 13 openly LGBTQ+ Senators and Representatives, two in the Senate and 11 in the House. While this is a record number, that is still an extraordinarily small population of Congress. With a total of 535 people serving in Congress, 100 from the Senate and 435 in the House, 13 people account for a very small percentage. Women represent 29% — 128 of 440 — of members of the House and 25% of the Senate.
In the face of what may be a difficult four years for a lot of people, McBride’s victory for Delaware is a refreshing and inspiring achievement that will hopefully be the first of many more successes in the representation of people from all walks of life serving the American people in the highest positions in our country.
Despite the resounding support McBride received from her Delaware constituents, she is not being welcomed by her fellow Representatives. Several members of the House have expressed resentment towards McBride, even going as far as to say they plan to ban her from using the women’s bathrooms in the U.S. Capitol. Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina introduced a resolution House rule to ban transgender women from accessing the women’s bathrooms on the grounds of the Capitol on Monday, Nov. 18. On Wednesday, Nov. 20, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson announced that he intends to enforce this ban in bathrooms, changing rooms and locker rooms. According to CNN, other members have touted anti-trans rhetoric in response to McBride’s election, making statements such as “A man is a man, and a woman is a woman, and a man cannot become a woman,” as stated by a Republican member from Louisiana.
McBride is determined, however, to not let this cruel backlash get in the way of her historic tenure in the House. In a post on X, McBride wrote “I’m not here to fight about bathrooms. I’m here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families. Like all members, I will follow the rules as outlined by Speaker Johnson, even if I disagree with them.”
It is beyond heartbreaking that McBride’s success in this election is not being celebrated by her colleagues. The comments and bans targeting the Representative-elect and the entire transgender community disturb me to my core and frankly are completely illogical. I cannot wrap my mind around anyone being concerned about what bathroom someone uses and how they chose to live their lives. I commend McBride for not allowing these hateful comments and plans being put into place to negate her accomplishment and deter her from her objectives for her state.
mkane10@ramapo.edu
Photo courtesy of @sarahmcbride, Instagram
