Sarah McBride to be first transgender person in US Congress [Video]

Delaware state senator Sarah McBride won a seat in the US House of Representatives on Tuesday, making her the first openly transgender politician elected to Congress.

The Democrat was the comfortable winner against Republican John Whalen III, US news networks projected, as she built up an unassailable lead with around two-thirds of ballots counted.

“Delaware has sent the message loud and clear that we must be a country that protects reproductive freedom… and that this is a democracy that is big enough for all of us,” she said in a statement posted to social media.

McBride told CBS in a recent interview her other priorities would be “affordable child care, paid family and medical leave, housing, health care.”

Transgender rights have become a hot-button issue in the US election — with the participation of trans people in competitive sports and the issue of access to gender-affirming care for minors triggering …