Lifestyle & Sports
05 Nov 20

U.S. Election: Sarah McBride elected first trans state senator, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez re-elected

As Joe Biden closes in on Donald Trump in what has been a gruelling presidential race, we can find more good news in Sarah McBride's election as the first openly transgender state senator in history, and the re-election of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her 'squad'.

Sarah McBride coasted to an easy win in Delaware on November 3rd, becoming the highest-ranking trans official in America.

"I hope tonight shows an LGBTQ kid that our democracy is big enough for them, too,” said McBride, 30, on Twitter. She defeated her Republican opponent Steve Washington by 46% in the Delaware's 1st district.

McBride is a former spokesperson for LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, and was a trainee in the White House when Barack Obama was president. She became the first openly trans person to speak at a major political convention in 2016 in Philadelphia, where she addressed Democrats.

Meanwhile, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib – the "squad" of Democratic congresswomen of colour – have all been re-elected in their own States: Ocasio-Cortez in New York, Omar in Minnesota, Pressley in Massachusetts, and Tlaib in Michigan.

“Serving New York-14 and fighting for working-class families in Congress has been the greatest honor, privilege and responsibility of my life,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “Thank you to the Bronx and Queens for re-electing me to the House despite the millions spent against us, and trusting me to represent you once more.”

"Our sisterhood is resilient," Omar tweeted. Omar and Tlaib were two of the first Muslim women to be elected to congress two years ago.

Ocasio-Cortez, who was first elected to congress in 2018, sailed to an easy win, despite her opponents spending millions to attempt to defeat her.

Trump has thrown regular xenophobic attacks at Omar, in one instance at a rally accusing her of telling white Americans "how to run our country". He has also cast countless disparaging remarks, often coloured with racist language, at all four women. Last year, Trump told the women to “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime-infested places from which they came”. Omar is the only one of the four women born outside America. She is from Somalia, and emigrated to America as a child.

The 2020 presidential race is still too close to call, and no victor has been named at the time of writing.