Sarah McBride wins Delaware House seat—becomes first out trans member of Congress

Sarah McBride has won Delaware’s sole seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, MSNBC has called.

McBride has beaten Republican John Whalen III in the majority Democratic state, making her the first out transgender member of Congress. She succeeds Lisa Blunt Rochester, who vacated the post to run for U.S. Senate and also won.

Related: LIVE: Election Day 2024 coverage of LGBTQ+ issues

McBride became the first out trans state senator in the nation when she was elected to Delaware’s state Senate in 2020. She also made history as the first out trans person to serve in the White House during the Obama administration, and the first to speak at a major party’s national convention in 2016. Her 2018 memoir, Tomorrow Will Be Different: Love, Loss, and the Fight for Trans Equality, features a foreword written by President Joe Biden.

McBride spearheaded Delaware’s legislation to ban the “gay and trans panic” defense as a state senator, which prohibits defendants from justifying violent actions based on the discovery of a victim’s LGBTQ+ identity, convincing both Democrats and Republicans to cosponsor and support the bill. Her efforts have also helped to pass paid family and medical leave, gun safety measures, and protections for reproductive rights.

McBride's historic victory comes at a time when more than 550 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were introduced last year, and 80 were passed into law, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. Now, near the end of 2024, 531 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced, with 45 passed into law. The majority target transgender people and their rights to health care, bathroom use, and sports participation.

McBride told The Advocate in September that “while my candidacy reflects our progress, the urgency of this moment underscores the challenges we face."

“The negativity and hatred we see toward the trans community writ large bothers me, but the hatred and the insults that are directed specifically toward me don’t bother me any more than the broader hatred,” she said, adding, “We need people in federal office who have a proven record of rolling up their sleeves, diving into the details, and bringing people together to deliver lasting change."