She’s already the highest-ranking openly transgender elected official in the country, but Delaware state Sen. Sarah McBride wants to soon clear a new bar — by getting elected to Congress next year.
McBride would become the first trans person to do so, if she wins the campaign she announced on Monday for Delaware’s sole House seat.
Though the primary is expected to be contested, she enters the race as the favorite, with the backing of labor organizers and national Democratic groups, as well as Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings and scores of state politicians. Boosting her in-state name recognition and national brand are her ties to the White House and the Bidens — she worked on the campaign of President Joe Biden’s son Beau when he ran for attorney general, interned in the Obama White House, and had the foreword to her memoir written by the president himself in 2018 (Biden has not endorsed McBride or any other candidate in the race).
I spoke with McBride on the day of her campaign launch — which coincided with the anniversary of several key dates in the struggle for equality and queer rights. McBride is running as an openly trans person during a wave of unprecedented legal attacks against trans and other queer people in Republican-dominated states, and as Americans’ acceptance of same-sex relationships wavers.
“It’s important for all of us to remember that progress is not linear. It happens in fits and starts and sometimes it’s two steps forward and one step back,” McBride told me. “Yes, there are some elements that are worse now than they were five or 10 years ago. But by every measure, we have made progress since the start of this movement and we can never forget that. I have seen too much change in my own life to not respect how far we’ve come.”
I asked McBride nine questions about her campaign, her policy goals, and her hopes for 2024 and beyond. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
1. So tell me —…
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