History-Making Sarah McBride Gives Inspiring Speech After Election

With her victory last night in her race for a seat in Delaware's state senate, Sarah McBride has become the first transgender person in U.S. history to serve in an upper chamber of a state legislature. The national press secretary for Human Rights Campaign, activist, and author McBride gave a stirring acceptance speech last night where she thanked her constituents and promised to fight to create a country that is "big enough" for everyone.

"It is my fervent hope that tonight a young person here in Delaware or in North Carolina or in Texas or anywhere in this country, that they are able to go to sleep tonight with a powerful but simple message: that our democracy is big enough for them too, that their voices matter and that change is always possible," McBride told a group of supporters in Delaware last night.

"Tonight, Sarah made history not just for herself but for our entire community. She gives a voice to the marginalized as a representative and an advocate," Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said. "This victory, the first of what I expect to be many in her career, shows that any person can achieve their dream, no matter their gender identity or sexual orientation. Though we will miss having her as an employee at the Human Rights Campaign, Sarah will undoubtedly represent the First District well and we look forward to seeing what she accomplishes."

McBride has been leading the fight for transgender rights and acceptance for many years. In 2011, during her last week in office as student body president at American University, McBride announced that she was a transgender woman in her school's newspaper. She was embraced by then-Vice President Joe Biden and Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation posted the story. She later interned as the first out transgender person to work in the White House in any capacity, in 2012, and was the first transgender person to speak at a national political convention when she took the Democratic stage in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 2016.

McBride used the acceptance speech to thank voters in her district for electing candidates "based on their ideas and their experience, not on their identities," calling her constituents "fair-minded people."

While the mood was clearly upbeat at the small outdoor gathering, McBride cautioned this was only the beginning.

"We also know though that the work isn't finished. That as wonderful as tonight is, the real hard work begins tomorrow."

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