Dem
51
GOP
49
As long as we are on the subject of the lower chamber of Congress, there was a notable declaration of candidacy yesterday. The at-large seat in Delaware is about to be vacated by Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D) so she can run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Tom Carper (D). Several Delawarean politicians have hinted at a run for the House, but yesterday state Sen. Sarah McBride (D) became the first to actually throw her hat into the ring.
That is not the notable portion, of course. After all, there are 435 House seats, and with potential primaries on both sides of the aisle, and potential multi-way primary contests, there will be well over 1,000 candidate announcements. What makes McBride notable, as you can see from the headline, is that she is trans. She is, in fact, the highest-ranking trans elected official in U.S. history, and would obviously become the first openly trans member of Congress if she wins election in 2024.
McBride certainly has an excellent chance of winning. Again, she's the only declared candidate so far. On top of that, the Democratic establishment appears to be lining up behind her. Two candidates who were pondering runs of their own have already declined and endorsed her (state Sen. Elizabeth Lockman and state Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend). If Rochester joins the chorus, that might seal the deal for the Democratic primary. And, in a state as blue as Delaware is, the Democratic primary is the de facto election.
Meanwhile, the Republicans are planning to build a big chunk of their 2024 pitch around anti-trans rhetoric and legislation. The GOP is also pretty good at taking individual candidates for Congress and making them into the face of the Democratic Party (see Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria). So, we expect this House race to get a heck of a lot of attention outside the borders of Delaware. (Z)