Delaware House candidate who would be first trans Congress member rakes in $414K in five days

Delaware state Sen. Sarah McBride (D), who could become the first openly transgender person elected to Congress, has raked in more than $414,000 in the early days of her campaign, she announced Thursday. 

“In just the first five days of this campaign, we raised more than $414,000, including the generous support of almost 550 Delaware donors from every corner of this state,” McBride said on Twitter, sharing an infographic on the campaign’s fundraising numbers as of June 30.

McBride, who became the nation’s first openly transgender state senator in 2020, launched her campaign for Delaware’s sole House seat on June 26.

McBride isn’t the first openly transgender candidate for Congress but, if she wins, could become the first to claim a seat in either chamber. 

McBride is running for the seat Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D) is vacating as she runs for the Delaware Senate seat left open by retiring Sen. Tom Carper (D).

“In 2020, I became the first openly trans person elected to serve as a State Senator anywhere in the country. It really felt like America was blazing a path to the future. But since then, the far-right has tried to use the LGBTQ community as a scapegoat for their policy failures,” McBride said in her campaign announcement.

“As they’ve increased their attacks on families and kids, it has become even clearer: for our democracy to work, it needs to include all of us,” she continued. “If elected, I’ll be the first openly trans member in Congress.”