Sarah McBride, an openly transgender state senator from Delaware, announced her run for U.S. Representative Monday.

If elected, McBride, a Democrat, would be the nation’s first openly transgender person to serve in Congress.

What You Need To Know

  • Openly transgender Delaware state Senator Sarah McBride announced she is running for the U.S. House of Representatives Monday

  • If elected, she would be the first openly transgender person to serve in Congress

  • McBride is running to replace Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., who is vacating her seat to run for the U.S. Senate

  • There are currently 13 members of Congress who identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual but none who openly identify as trans

“Everyone deserves a member of Congress who sees them and who respects them,” McBride, 32, said in a video announcing her campaign Monday.

McBride is running to replace Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., who has served in the U.S. House since 2017 and is vacating her seat to run for U.S. Senate. Blunt Rochester was the first woman and first African American to represent Delaware in Congress and is running to replace U.S. Senator Tom Carper, D-Del., who is retiring after more than two decades in office.

If elected, McBride would be equally trailblazing. There are currently 13 members of Congress who identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual but none who identify as trans.

A former campaign staffer for President Biden’s late son Beau when he was Delaware Attorney General, McBride was the first openly transgender speaker at the 2016 Democratic National Convention and the first openly transgender state senator in Delaware when she was elected in 2020.

As a state Senator, McBride helped pass a bill last year that will provide up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave and up to six weeks of paid leave for medical needs, family caregiving or military exigencies when it takes effect in 2026. As a U.S. Representative, she will be committed to the people in her state “who aren’t seen,” she said in her campaign kickoff video, citing busy parents raising their children, seniors worried about paying for prescription drugs and working people struggling to keep up.

The question she’s asked the most, she said in the video, is “What will it take to make government work better for people?” Her answer: a compassion for others, a willingness to work with anyone, having a thick skin — and coffee.

With clips of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and House Freedom Caucus members Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., playing under her words, the Wilmington, Del., native said “too many politicians want to tell us that teachers, doctors, even our own neighbors, are the enemy.”

McBride is endorsed by the Delaware state auditor and attorney general, as well as 21 Delaware state senators. The LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, End Citizens United and Human Rights Campaign are also supporting McBride’s bid for a seat that could soon have more competition.

Delaware State Housing Authority Director Eugene Young, State Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro and State Treasurer Colleen Davis — all Democrats — could also run for the seat, according to Bloomberg Government.