Sarah McBride Takes Another Shot to Make Political History

Author and advocate Sarah McBride announced Tuesday morning that she will run for the Delaware state senate.

McBride, who was the first trans person to deliver a speech at a major party convention (the Democratic National Convention in 2016) announced in a campaign video that she's running to tackle paid family leave, health care, and criminal justice reform, according to the Delaware News Journal.

"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," she said in her announcement. "Our neighbors still need someone to fight for them. That's why I'm running for State Senate."

In Delaware, where McBride grew up, McBride advocated for the passage of the state's Gender Identity Nondiscrimination Act, which was signed into law in 2013, and partnered with a local chapter of Moms Demand Action, to create stricter gun laws in the state. She also worked for former Gov. Jack Markell and Attorney General Beau Biden, the late son of former Vice President Joe Biden. McBride was also the first openly trans person to intern at the White House under President Barack Obama. She will be running to replace retiring Sen. Harris McDowell in 2020.

McBride, 28, is currently the national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign. In 2018, McBride published her memoir Tomorrow Will Be Different: Love, Loss, and the Fight for Trans Equality.

McBride would be the first known transgender woman to serve in a state senate if elected to office, according to Newsweek. Danica Roem was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 2017 after unseating a 13-term Republican incumbent who was hell-bent on blocking trans people from using bathroom facilities that correspond with their gender identity.

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