Avenger of the Week | Senator Sarah McBride

Senator Sarah McBride. Photo credit: Sarah McBride [CC BY 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons.

Sarah McBride became the highest-ranking trans woman elected official in American history when she won a seat in the Delaware State Senate with 73% of the vote in November. She is among four other trans women elected or reelected to lower house state legislatures: Stephanie Byers in Kansas and Brianna Titone in Colorado were each reelected, and Taylor Small in Vermont and Lisa Bunker in New Hampshire were elected for the first time.

Born in Wilmington, McBride, now 30, graduated from American University and came out as transgender at the end of her term as student body president. She interned and later worked at the White House on LGBTQ issues, and she worked in various Delaware campaigns and at the Center for American Progress. She joined the non-profit Equality Delaware and became a leading proponent of an LGBTQ anti-discrimination and hate crime protection law enacted in 2013. When signing the bill into law, Governor Jack Merkell personally thanked McBride and described her as “an intelligent and talented Delawarean who happens to be transgender.”

“She courageously stood before the General Assembly to describe her personal struggles with gender identity and communicate her desire to return home after her college graduation without fear,” he said. “Her tireless advocacy for passage of this legislation has made a real difference for all transgender people in Delaware.”

McBride continued her advocacy for LBGTQ rights and has written extensively and appeared in national media, at TED Talks, and in other forums. She was the first transgender person to speak at a national party convention in 2016. Her campaign for the Delaware Senate focused on family issues including health care and paid family and medical leave.

“Change always seems impossible until it’s inevitable.”

— Senator Sarah McBride

McBride is now Chair of the Delaware General Assembly Health & Social Services Committee and is a sponsor of the Healthy Delaware Families Act, introduced last month. She is also a member of the Corrections & Public Safety, Housing, Judiciary, and Veterans Affairs committees.

For her courage and commitment to LGBTQ rights and her place in history as the first transgender State Senator in the country, Sarah McBride is Genderavenger’s Avenger of the Week.

The @GenderAvenger #AvengerOfTheWeek is @SarahEMcBride, the highest-ranking trans woman elected official in US history when she won a seat in the Delaware State Senate in November. “Change always seems impossible until it's inevitable.” #GenderAvenger https://www.genderavenger.com/blog/avenger-of-the-week-sarah-mcbride