Sarah McBride hopes bid to be first transgender congresswoman encourages ’empathy’ for trans people
Democratic congressional candidate from Delaware Sarah McBride hugs Delaware State Treasurer Colleen Davis. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
Sarah McBride hopes her bid to become the first trans member of congress will encourage “empathy” for the community.
McBride, who made history in 2020 as the the first trans woman to be elected to a state senate, will face off against Republican nominee James Whalen for a seat in the US House of Representatives on 5 November.
The Delaware politician is favoured to win a seat the Democrats have held since 2010.
She told reporters at Delaware State University: “It is a testament to Delawarians that the candidacy of someone like me is even possible.
“Folks know I am personally invested in equality as an LGBTQ person. But my priorities are going to be affordable child care, paid family and medical leave, housing, health care, reproductive freedom.”
If she wins, she wouldn’t be “the first person in congress to be part of a community that Donald Trump has said outrageous things about”.
Former policeman Whalen is prioritising illegal immigration and reducing the federal debt.
‘Open up the most-closed hearts and minds’
McBride said of members of congress who attack trans people: “I think the ones who are really caught up on this, the folks who are professional provocateurs, they’re not gonna work with any Democrat. They can barely work with their own Republican colleagues.
“We know throughout history that the power of proximity has opened even the most-closed of hearts and minds. And I still believe that the power of proximity taps the most fundamental human emotion: empathy.”
A recent study found that politicians who use anti-trans rhetoric as part of their election campaigns are more likely to lose at the polls than those who don’t vent hate.
Last week, vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz outlined the measures the Democrats have to protect LGBTQ+ youngsters, if Kamala Harris wins the presidential election.
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