Sarah McBride launches U.S. House bid, would become first trans member of Congress

June 26 (UPI) -- Delaware State Sen. Sarah McBride announced she will run for the state's lone U.S. House seat on Monday to become the first openly transgender person to win a seat in Congress.

McBride, 32, would also become the youngest elected official Delaware has elected to the House since electing President Joe Biden to the Senate in 1972.

"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 Delaware Online/The News Journal. "I am certainly cognizant of the uniqueness of my candidacy, of the uniqueness that my voice would bring to the halls of Congress.

"But ultimately, I'm not running to be a trans member of Congress. I'm running to be Delaware's member of Congress who's focused on making progress on all of the issues that matter to Delawareans of every background."

McBride released a video on Twitter announcing her campaign.

"My commitment is to the people of Delaware who aren't seen, who don't shout the loudest or fund political campaigns," McBride said. "People who are raising their children. Seniors worried about paying for prescription drugs. Working people struggling to keep up. Everyone deserves a member of Congress who sees them and who respects them."

McBride is running for the seat currently being held by Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, who recently announced she would run for the Senate seat currently held by Sen. Tom Carpers, pottentially becoming the first African American woman to hold that position.

McBride is currently the highest-ranking trans person in any elected statewide office. A former intern in the Obama White House who worked for the Human Rights Campaign, she became the first transgender person to address a major national political convention in 2016 when she spoke at the Democratic National Convention.