US Elections: Sarah McBride to become nation's first transgender state senator

Sarah McBride will become America's first transgender to take a seat in the US senate after votes took to her favour last Tuesday in Delaware. McBride, 33, won over Republican Steve Washington in Delaware's 1st District taking 73% of votes. She will take over the seat from Democrat Harris McDowell.

As a spokesperson of advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign, McBride was also the first LGBTQ person to speak at a major party convention during the Democratic National Convention in 2016. She was also the first transgender trainee in the White House at the time of her internship during Obama's presidency.

Aligning with her senatorial bid, McBride lobbied for the passage of Delaware's gender identity non-discrimination act in 2013. Her advocacy shone through as her proposed bill was signed into state law that same year.

Delaware also saw McBride fight and campaign for expanding access to health care, paid medical and family leaves, as well as increased minimum wage and criminal justice reform, CNN reported.

She says her first priority in office is to ensure that Delaware continues to effectively manage the pandemic with data and science based approach.

In an interview on Tuesday night, McBride said her intent to run for a senate seat is not to make history or headlines.

"But I do hope that tonight's results can send a powerful and potentially life-saving message to a young person here in Delaware or potentially somewhere else in this country that their voice matters and that our Democracy is big enough for them too," she said.

Alphonso David, the president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement:

"She gives a voice to the marginalised as a representative and an advocate."

"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."

McBride was not the only LGBTQ candidate to make history in Delaware last Tuesday. Two other openly gay district representatives were also elected to the General assembly. Several LGBTQ candidates have also been elected to lower chambers of state legislatures in Vermont, Kansas, Oklahoma and New York.