Delaware Democrats back Sara McBride's bid to become first openly transgender person in US Congress

DOVER, Del. — Delaware in November could elect the first openly transgender member of Congress and the state’s first Black U.S. senator.

On Tuesday, voters in the Blue Hen State were deciding their fall nominees in several political contests, including picking Matt Meyer, the chief executive of Delaware’s most populous county, in the Democratic primary for governor.

State Sen. Sarah McBride, meanwhile, won the Democratic primary for Delaware’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and now has the chance to make history as the first openly transgender person elected to Congress.

“My heart is filled with hope and gratitude,” McBride told The Associated Press. “I’m grateful, I’m hopeful and I’m motivated.”

McBride said Tuesday’s results reflect the “goodness” of Delawareans who judge a candidate “based on ability, not identity.”

“I’m not running to make history,” McBride said. “I’m running to make historic progress for Delawareans.”

“The only identity I want to be known for is my identity as a proud Delawarean," she said, adding that she wasn't saying her identity doesn't matter. "It’s just one part of who I am.”

McBride won Tuesday’s primary over businessmen Earl Cooper and Elias Weir, neither of whom reported raising any money for their campaigns. Cooper is a political newcomer, while Weir finished dead last in a 2016 congressional primary with less than 1% of the vote.

McBride, meanwhile, raised almost $3 million in contributions from around the country. McBride achieved national recognition at the 2016 Democratic National Convention as the first openly transgender person to address a major party convention in the United States.

McBride will face James Whalen IIII, a retired state police officer and construction company owner from Millsboro, who won the GOP primary race against Donyale Hall, a Dover businesswoman and a Gulf War-era veteran of the U.S. Air Force. Democrats have held the seat since 2010.

The House seat is being vacated by Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, who has no primary opponent as she seeks the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Tom Carper, who held the seat since 2001. With a victory in November Blunt Rochester would be the state’s first Black U.S. senator.

Meanwhile, in state legislative contests, Kamela Smith knocked off House Speaker Valerie Longhurst. Smith is director of community education and engagement for ChristianaCare, Delaware’s largest hospital system. On her campaign website she says she "believes in lifting up and speaking for the silenced, the marginalized, the voices of those vulnerable who don’t often get heard in Legislative Hall.”

Here’s a closer look at other key races:

Democratic gubernatorial primary

Meyer defeated Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long and former state Environmental Secretary Collin O’Mara in Tuesday’s election. Meyer led all candidates in fundraising, but his campaign also was helped by a scandal involving Hall-Long.

Meyer will likely be considered the favorite in a November general election contest to succeed Gov. John Carney. He will face state Rep. Mike Ramone, who is the current GOP minority leader and won in a three-way race in his party's primary.

Hall-Long has held public office since winning a state House seat in 2002, but she has been enmeshed in a campaign scandal that led several top staffers to resign and prompted election officials to commission a forensic audit.

The audit found that, during seven years as his wife’s campaign treasurer, Dana Long wrote 112 checks to himself or cash. The checks totaled just under $300,000 and should have been reported as campaign expenditures. Instead, 109 were not disclosed in finance reports, and the other four, payable to Dana Long, were reported as being written to someone else. Hall-Long has said the checks reflect repayment of loans that she made to her campaign but did not report.

“I think Delawareans are looking for a new way forward,” Meyer told The Associated Press on Tuesday night before addressing supporters at a watch party in Wilmington.

Meyer said Delaware voters are looking for leaders with “honesty and accountability," though he declined to speculate on how much of an effect Hall-Long’s campaign finance scandal played in the Democratic primary.

"We’re looking forward, not back, and we know that our state’s future is brighter together,” he said.

His Republican opponent Ramone was elected to the state House in 2008 and is known for his willingness to work across party lines. He has won reelection several times in a district where Democrats heavily outnumber Republicans.

On the campaign trail, Ramone has argued that restoring political balance to state government, where Democrats control the executive and legislative branches, would benefit Delaware voters and taxpayers. He nevertheless faces an uphill battle against Meyer, given the advantage that Democrats have in statewide voter registration numbers.

Democratic primary for Wilmington mayor

Carney easily won the Democratic nomination for mayor of Wilmington and will become chief executive of the state’s largest city.

Carney, who is prohibited by law from seeking a third term as governor, defeated former Wilmington city Treasurer Velda Jones-Potter on Tuesday. He will face no opposition in November.

“It really came down to my experience and the trust that people had developed over many, many years over what I said was going to do,” Carney said.

While taking a step down on the political ladder, Carney will remain in a chief executive role as mayor, given that he faces no opposition in November. Carney has said he wants to build on the investments his administration has made in Wilmington, with a focus on improving public schools, expanding affordable housing and helping small businesses.