Delaware state Sen. Sarah McBride announced Monday she's running for the U.S. House of Representatives. Already the first openly transgender state senator elected in the country, she'd be the first transgender member of Congress if she wins in November.

In a video posted to social media, McBride, a Democrat, said people deserve a representative “who sees them and who respects them.” Her announcement also highlighted her support for paid family leave, which passed the state Senate last year.

“This law is a good start, but government should do more to make it easier for people to raise a family,” she said. “So I'm running for Congress.”

McBride was elected in 2020 in a heavily Democratic district stretching from northern Wilmington to the Pennsylvania border. There are several other transgender legislators around the country but she's the first trans member of any state Senate.

McBride interned at the White House under former President Barack Obama and made history at the 2016 Democratic National Convention as the first openly trans person to speak at a major party convention.

McBride has long-standing ties to Delaware’s best-known political family. She worked on the late Beau Biden’s campaigns for state attorney general, and Beau’s father, President Joe Biden, wrote the foreword to her memoir. She also worked on the campaign of former Gov. Jack Markell.

She succeeded fellow Democrat Harris McDowell, who held the Senate seat since 1976 and endorsed McBride’s candidacy.

McBride’s campaign generated interest and money from around the country, bringing in more than $270,000 in donations as of early October 2020, eclipsing fundraising totals even for candidates for statewide office in Delaware.

A former student body president at American University, McBride started in politics as a volunteer for Matt Denn, former legal counsel to Delaware’s governor, during his successful 2004 campaign for insurance commissioner. Denn, who later served as lieutenant governor and attorney general, worked with McBride’s father at a Wilmington law firm known for its close ties to the Democratic Party establishment.

Share:
More In Politics
Deconstructing Stormy Daniels' "Nothing Burger"
Adult film star Stormy Daniels has no proof to back up any of her claims, including the assertion that she was threatened to stay silent by President Trump's team. For that reason, she isn't a legal threat to the president, says former prosecutor Jonna Spilbor. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, sat down in an exclusive interview on "60 Minutes" Sunday.
David Hogg on Preparing for #MarchForOurLives
Student-turned-activist David Hogg speaks with Cheddar's J.D. Durkin ahead of Saturday's March For Our Lives rallies. The event in Washington D.C. and around the world will push for action on gun reform. Hogg is a survivor of the Parkland, Fla., high school shooting last month.
Tariffs and Tech Spell Bad News for Markets
President Trump's proposed tariffs on Chinese imports and Facebook's privacy scandal both weighed down markets Thursday, said Daniel Ives, Chief Strategy Officer at GBH Insights. The Dow ended the day more than 700 points lower.
Grading Mark Zuckerberg's Performance
On Wednesday night, the Facebook CEO sat down with four media outlets to discuss the Cambridge Analytica scandal that has engulfed the company for the past week. While he hit the right tone and talking points, he didn't really address most users' concerns, says Ina Fried, Chief Technology Correspondent at Axios.
Rep. Garamendi (D-CA): "The Russians Must Have Something on Trump"
Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA) told Cheddar he believes the Trump campaign was aware of the use of private data harvested off Facebook and is outraged the social media company sought to profit off the move. The company remains under fire amid a data scandal that unveiled private information of more than 50 million users to an analytics firm working for the Trump campaign.
Cambridge Analytica CEO Suspended, and the FTC Probes Facebook
Federal regulators will try to find out whether the social media company knew what Cambridge Analytica was doing with data harvested off of its platform, says Jesse Byrnes, Associate Editor of The Hill. The agency launched a probe into the social media network on Tuesday after revelations the data firm used information about millions of Americans to help President Trump's campaign.
Opening Bell: March 20, 2018
The fallout from Facebook's latest data scandal continues to intensify. The Weinstein Co. officially files for bankruptcy protection after many attempts to sell the company failed. Josh Sternberg, tech editor for AdWeek, joins us to discusses how Uber moves forward after one of its driverless cars killed a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona. And Bri Bauer from Dairy Queen brings ice cream cones to the trading floor to celebrate the company's National Cone Day. On the first day of spring, Dairy Queen gives customers free vanilla ice cream cones.
Could the AT&T / Time Warner Deal Be Good Business?
"Content is king, and pipes are commodities." That, in a nutshell, is why the wireless giant wants to join forces with the content creator, explains Ben Gomes-Casseres, professor of International Business at Brandeis International Business School. The DoJ is seeking to block the merger, citing anti-trust issues, and the trial will kick off on Wednesday.
Load More