A record breaking twenty-one transgender candidates who aspire to promote equality are in the running for a seat in office this election.
It’s safe to say that 2020 has been a tumultuous year, with coronavirus, global Black Lives Matter protests, and the impending doom of climate change looming, among many other things (don’t forget that brain-eating disease). But in news worth celebrating, there are twenty-one openly transgender candidates running for state and local office around the US this election.
This year has seen more than 1,000 LGBTQ people run for office, the highest number on record according to the Victory Fund, an organisation committed to electing LGBTQ people who can further equality at all levels of government. The Victory Fund hopes that 2020 will see the number of transgender state legislators in the United States doubled from four to eight.
In news that just came in, one of the many trans people in the running for a seat, Taylor Small, has made history by becoming the first transgender person elected to the Vermont State Legislature.
Taylor Small is a 26-year-old Democratic candidate from the north-east state of Vermont where she represents the Progressive Party. She stands for the defunding of law enforcement, improving and raising awareness for mental health, and a single-payer healthcare system (meaning everyone receives coverage regardless of their financial situation).
“Here in Vermont and probably across the nation, we see legislative bodies that are typically majority white, majority wealthy, older, cisgender, and straight,” said Small, who works to confront the health disparities that the LGBTQ community face.
History made! Vermont has elected its first openly transgender state legislator, our Spotlight Candidate @TaylorSmallVT. pic.twitter.com/WqdpnhltUu
— LGBTQ Victory Fund (@VictoryFund) November 4, 2020
“A cisgender, white, straight man is never asking himself whether or not he should do this thing. It is the expectation that he can and will. And so for marginalised folks, we always run into that question of, if I can do this thing, am I able to do it? And the answer is: Yes, you are, and your community will be there to support you,” she said.
Sarah McBride has too made history, coming out victorious and winning a state Senate seat in Delaware, making her the highest-ranking openly trans official in the US.
Sarah McBride has just been elected to the Delaware state Senate, according to the New York Times and the LGBTQ Victory Fund — making her the highest-ranking elected lawmaker who is out and trans in the US https://t.co/lG2ffMEvu0 pic.twitter.com/oZDPMWhGFt
— Vox (@voxdotcom) November 4, 2020
Here is a definitive list of everything you need to know about the twenty-one openly transgender people currently running for office.
In the meantime, keep your eyes and ears peeled for the status and results of the other nineteen candidates currently awaiting their verdict!
