Transgender-identifying Delaware state Senator Sarah McBride announced a bid for the U.S. House of Representatives this week to bring “diversity” to the legislative body.
McBride, born Tim, would be the first transgender-identifying person in Congress if elected. McBride was first elected to the Delaware Senate in 2020. He formerly worked on a political campaign for President Joe Biden’s late son, Beau.
“It’s clear that diversity in government is necessary for us to not just ensure we have a healthy democracy but also to truly deliver for people,” McBride told The News Journal.
In an interview with the New York Times, McBride said that state laws banning sex change procedures on minors were “wrong and unconstitutional” and “an attempt by MAGA Republicans to distract from the fact that they have absolutely no agenda for families and for workers in our country.”
During his time in the Senate, McBride has spoken out against a proposal that would have barred males from competing in women’s sports.
“Let’s be clear, this legislation is part of a national strategy to ban trans kids from affirming health care, ban certain books, forbid discussion, and to rip trans kids away from supportive parents – policies that try to delay and delay and delay trans kids from living authentically,” McBride said in March 2022.
Prior to the 2020 Delaware Senate election, McBride interned for the Obama administration, worked as national press secretary for the far-Left Human Rights Campaign, and spoke at the 2016 Democrat National Convention.
McBride appears closely connected to the Bidens, who call Delaware home. When President Biden’s son, Beau, ran for state attorney general, McBride worked on his campaign. Joe Biden wrote the forward to McBride’s 2018 memoir, “Tomorrow Will Be Different: Love, Loss, and the Fight for Trans Equality.”
“She was honest and heartfelt. Even at that young age, she was a leader. Not because she thought she was better than anyone else, but because she treated everyone as equals. She was a Biden even then,” Biden wrote in the forward.
McBride has already taken shots at Republicans, flashing pictures of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) when discussing politicians “who want to divide us” in the campaign’s first video ad.
In a Tuesday tweet, McBride criticized “MAGA extremists” emphasizing “culture wars” while promising to focus on “reproductive rights,” “gun safety,” and “affordable child care.”
Delaware has just one seat in Congress, which has been occupied by a Democrat since 2011. Last week, four-term Rep. Lisa Rochester (D-DE) announced that she would be leaving the House to run for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by outgoing Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE).
McBride announced just days later, earning the endorsements of Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings and a host of state Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend and Senate President Pro Tempore Dave Sokola.