US: Trans candidate runs for Wyoming House of Representatives
Larissa Sneider, a transgender woman from Evanston, Wyoming, recently secured a Democratic nomination to run for the Wyoming House of Representatives.
In the Republican dominated state of Wyoming, Sneider will be vying in the upcoming midterm election to represent District 49, running against Republican incumbent Garry C Piiparinen.
Sneider, a retired Wyoming Walmart manager, decided to run for office after attending a legislative session in Cheyenne last year.
She said: “I was listening to someone speak who didn’t want his children to learn about evolution and climate change. To sit up there and keep my mouth shut — it hurt. I have very strong opinions and very strong arguments.”
Sneider, who won the nomination late last month, said that despite the state’s Republican base and anti-LGBT laws, the reaction to her nomination has been favourable.
She said: “I know there are some dirty looks and some of this and some of that, but people take me at face value. It’s actually kind of strange. I think there are a lot of things going on behind my back that I don’t hear. But I think most of the reaction has been positive.”
If she wins, she’ll be Wyoming’s first openly-transgender representative.
Sneider is not the only transgender candidate running for public office in the midterm elections. Trans candidates are running in major and minor elections across the country, including Republican nominee Lauren Scott who is running for the Nevada General Assembly.
