Sarah McBride Bio
Sarah Elizabeth McBride (born 9 August 1990) is an American politician, author, and LGBTQ rights activist serving as the U.S. representative for Delaware’s at-large congressional district. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the Delaware Senate from January 2021 to January 2025 and was national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign from 2016 to 2021.
McBride became the first openly transgender state senator in the United States in 2020 and the first openly transgender member of the U.S. Congress on January 3, 2025. She has championed transgender civil-rights protections, helped pass Delaware anti-discrimination legislation, addressed the 2016 Democratic National Convention, and authored the memoir Tomorrow Will Be Different.
Early Life and Background
Sarah Elizabeth McBride was born in Wilmington, Delaware, on 9 August 1990 to David McBride and Sally McBride. Her father was a lawyer at the Wilmington firm Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, and her mother was a high school guidance counselor and a founder of the Cab Calloway School of the Arts in Wilmington. Growing up in a civically engaged family in Delaware shaped her early interest in public service.
McBride graduated from the Cab Calloway School of the Arts in 2009, where she developed an interest in performance and leadership. She then attended American University in Washington, D.C., earning a bachelor’s degree in 2013. At American University, she was elected to the undergraduate senate in 2010 and later became student body president in 2011, working on arts advocacy, conflict-free mineral sourcing, and academic regulations.
During her college years, McBride became active in Democratic politics, serving as a co-founder of Delaware’s Young Democrats Movement and working on campaigns for local Democrats, including Beau Biden, Matthew Denn, and Jack Markell. In her final week as student body president in 2012, she publicly came out as a transgender woman in a letter published in the American University student newspaper The Eagle, an announcement that drew international attention.
Path to US Politics
McBride’s entry into national politics accelerated after her public coming out. In 2012, she interned at the White House in the Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs, becoming the first openly transgender person to work in the White House in any capacity. She focused on LGBTQ issues and gained strong support from the Biden family, with Attorney General Beau Biden and Vice President Joe Biden publicly expressing pride in her courage.
In January 2013, McBride joined the board of directors of Equality Delaware and quickly became the state’s leading advocate for transgender legal protections. She and her family led the lobbying effort that produced Delaware’s gender-identity anti-discrimination law covering employment, housing, insurance, and public accommodations. The bill was signed into law by Governor Jack Markell in June 2013, and McBride became a recognized national voice on transgender equality.
Afterward, McBride worked on the LGBT Progress team at the Center for American Progress and rose through the Human Rights Campaign, where she served as national press secretary from 2016 to 2021. She delivered a TED Talk in 2016, addressed the Democratic National Convention in 2016 as the first openly transgender speaker at a major party convention, and published her memoir Tomorrow Will Be Different in 2018, building the profile that would carry her into elective office.
Sarah McBride Career
Early Career (2013–2019)
McBride’s first major political achievement was helping to pass Delaware’s 2013 anti-discrimination law protecting transgender residents. As the primary spokesperson for the legislation, she built relationships with Governor Jack Markell and Attorney General Beau Biden and testified before the General Assembly. The law passed the state senate by a single vote and was signed in June 2013.
She continued her advocacy through roles at the Center for American Progress and the Human Rights Campaign, while earning recognition from outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The New Yorker. She was named to the 2014 Trans 100 list and ranked as the Most Valuable Progressive in Delaware. These years positioned her as one of the most prominent transgender political figures in the country.
Delaware Senate Breakthrough (2020–2024)
On July 9, 2019, Sarah Elizabeth McBride announced her candidacy for the Delaware Senate, focusing on health care and paid family and medical leave. She won the November 2020 election and was sworn in in January 2021, replacing retiring Democrat Harris McDowell III. With that victory, she became the first openly transgender state senator in United States history.
During her first term in the Delaware Senate, McBride successfully sponsored the Healthy Delaware Families Act, which created a paid family and medical leave program offering up to twelve weeks of leave at as much as 80 percent of wages or a maximum of $900 per week. The program was funded through automatic payroll contributions and became a centerpiece of her legislative record.
She served in the Delaware Senate from January 2021 to January 2025, representing the 1st senate district. Her tenure was widely noted for advancing LGBTQ equality and family-focused policy in the state.
U.S. House of Representatives Era (2025–Present)
In June 2023, McBride announced her candidacy for Delaware’s at-large congressional district to succeed Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester, who was running for the U.S. Senate. Rochester endorsed McBride, who centered her campaign on paid family and medical leave, raising the minimum wage, protecting reproductive rights, and expanding access to health care.
On September 10, 2024, McBride won the Democratic primary with 80 percent of the vote, and in November 2024 she won the general election with 58 percent of the vote. On January 3, 2025, she was sworn in as the first openly transgender member of the United States Congress.
As a member of Congress, McBride serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and has engaged on U.S.–Israel relations, the two-state solution, American aid to Israel, the Abraham Accords, and a Gaza ceasefire. In January 2026, she joined a bipartisan congressional delegation to Copenhagen in support of Denmark and Greenland amid the Greenland crisis. She has also spoken out on social policy, including the treatment of transgender service members.
Notable Events and Milestones
McBride’s career is defined by a series of historic firsts: the first openly transgender person to address a major U.S. party convention in 2016, the first openly transgender state senator in 2020, and the first openly transgender member of the U.S. Congress in 2025. Each milestone has been accompanied by national attention and ongoing debates over transgender rights in American public life.
Sarah McBride Career Wins
McBride’s electoral record includes a 2020 Delaware Senate victory, a 2024 Democratic primary win with 80 percent of the vote, and a 2024 general election win with 58 percent of the vote. She has also accumulated significant policy victories, most notably Delaware’s 2013 anti-discrimination law and the Healthy Delaware Families Act.
Delaware Senate Highlights
McBride won the 2020 Delaware Senate race to represent the 1st senate district, succeeding fellow Democrat Harris McDowell III. Her victory made her the first openly transgender state senator in United States history. She was sworn in in January 2021 and served until January 2025.
U.S. House Highlights
McBride won the September 2024 Democratic primary with 80 percent of the vote and the November 2024 general election with 58 percent of the vote to represent Delaware’s at-large congressional district. Her election and swearing in on January 3, 2025 marked her as the first openly transgender member of the U.S. Congress.
Other Wins & Achievements
McBride authored the memoir Tomorrow Will Be Different: Love, Loss, and the Fight for Trans Equality, published in 2018 with a foreword by Joe Biden, and was inducted into the 2014 Trans 100 list. She was also recognized as the Most Valuable Progressive in Delaware by DelawareLiberal.net and listed among fifty upcoming millennials by MIC.com.
Sarah McBride Family
Family Background and Political Lineage
Sarah Elizabeth McBride was raised in Wilmington, Delaware, by her father David McBride, a lawyer, and her mother Sally McBride, a high school guidance counselor. Her mother helped found the Cab Calloway School of the Arts, where McBride later studied. The family has been politically active, with McBride and her relatives helping lead the lobbying effort that produced Delaware’s 2013 anti-discrimination law.
Personal Life
On August 24, 2014, McBride married fellow LGBTQ rights activist Andrew Cray in a small private ceremony on their apartment rooftop in Washington, D.C., officiated by Episcopal bishop Gene Robinson. Four days after the wedding, Andrew Cray died from oral cancer, and McBride has credited his memory as a guiding force in her advocacy. She is an ordained Presbyterian elder.