Delaware state Senator-elect Sarah McBride shared an exchange on Monday from her DMs that asked, “I am confused, are you a boy or a girl?”
McBride, a Democrat whose recent election victory means she’s set to become the highest-ranking transgender official in U.S. history, clarified: “I’m a senator.”
The 30-year-old said earlier this month that she hopes her win will send a reassuring message to young LGBTQ Americans that they are represented and can aspire to public office, too.
“I know how much of a difference it would have made to me to see this news,” she told Reuters.
“A healthy democracy includes a diverse government and we can’t craft solutions for a diverse community if the full diversity is not reflected at the table.”
But she didn’t run to be “the transgender state senator,” she told The Daily Beast in September.
“I’m running to be a state senator who was born and raised in this district, a state senator who is a caregiver, a state senator who is working every single day to ensure more Delawareans get the health care they need and are supported in the challenges and crises they face with meaningful policies,” she said.
Prior to her election, McBride was a longtime LGBTQ activist and gained prominence in 2016 when she was the first openly trans person to speak at the Democratic National Convention.