When “Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” These words by Nelson Mandela are a fitting opening to the life story of Sarah McBride, one of the most courageous and trailblazing figures in American politics. Her journey from a young political enthusiast in Delaware to the halls of the United States Congress is not just a personal triumph, it’s a seismic cultural shift in American democracy.
Sarah Elizabeth McBride, born on August 9, 1990, in Wilmington, Delaware, had politics in her blood from an early age. Her father was a lawyer, and her mother a high school guidance counselor who also helped found the Cab Calloway School of the Arts. From these roots sprang a passion for civic duty and justice. Sarah attended Cab Calloway and graduated in 2009, then pursued political science at American University in Washington, D.C., where she earned her bachelor’s degree in 2013.
At American University, Sarah was elected student body president in 2011. But it was at the end of her term in 2012 that she made headlines by coming out as a transgender woman in the university newspaper.
Her public coming out was met with an overwhelming wave of support, including a call from Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, who told her she was still part of the Biden family. This moment marked the beginning of her national visibility, and with it came both tremendous opportunity and tremendous responsibility.
That same year, Sarah became the first openly transgender woman to work at the White House, serving in the Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs. She used that platform to champion LGBTQ issues with the kind of quiet strength and unwavering clarity that would become her signature. From that point on, Sarah’s political journey evolved alongside her identity, as a fighter not just for trans rights but for the broader principle of human dignity.
But Sarah was just getting started. She went on to serve as the national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign from 2016 to 2021. Her visibility and effectiveness only grew. She was a regular speaker at high-profile events, including the Human Rights Campaign dinners and the Victory Fund National Brunch. She published her memoir, Tomorrow Will Be Different: Love, Loss, and the Fight for Trans Equality, in 2018, with a foreword by Joe Biden. The book chronicled not just her political journey, but also her deeply personal story of love and grief, her marriage to fellow LGBTQ advocate Andrew Cray, who passed away from cancer just four days after they wed.
In 2016, Sarah made history again by becoming the first openly transgender person to speak at a major party political convention when she addressed the Democratic National Convention. Her speech, less than four minutes long, was a tribute to love, resilience, and the unshakable belief that everyone deserves dignity and equal rights under the law. In that moment, she became more than a rising star, she became a beacon of hope.
In 2020, Sarah was elected to the Delaware State Senate, making her the first openly transgender state senator in American history. She campaigned on a platform focused on healthcare, paid family leave, and raising the minimum wage. Her presence in the legislature was both historic and impactful. She sponsored and passed the Healthy Delaware Families Act, providing for 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave, a landmark achievement for working families in her state.
As her first term concluded in 2023, Sarah announced her candidacy for Delaware’s at-large congressional seat. Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester had vacated the seat to run for the U.S. Senate, and she endorsed Sarah as her successor. Sarah’s campaign focused on the same core values that had guided her career: fairness, equity, healthcare access, and economic opportunity.
She won the Democratic primary with a commanding 80% of the vote and secured victory in the 2024 general election with 58% support, becoming the first openly transgender member of the United States Congress.
Yet even as she broke barriers, Sarah remained targeted. Her mere presence in Congress was enough to provoke backlash. Republican Rep. Nancy Mace introduced a bill to ban transgender women from using women’s bathrooms in congressional buildings, a move transparently aimed at McBride. The Republican House Speaker enforced the policy. Sarah’s response was graceful and resolute: “I’m not here to fight about bathrooms. I’m here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families.” When she was misgendered on the House floor by Rep. Mary Miller, Sarah kept her composure, continuing her speech with dignity. The congressional record was later corrected.
What Tristan Blake’s The Warrior: Sarah McBride – The Senator Who Gave Us Rights does so well is not merely recount the political milestones, but illuminate the personal courage that underpins them.
Sarah McBride’s journey is not a tale of triumph without fear, it is the story of someone who has conquered fear again and again. She didn’t just walk into history; she carved out a place in it, holding the door open for others to follow.
Blake paints Sarah as not only a political pioneer, but a symbol of enduring hope for LGBTQ+ Americans, women, and anyone who has felt marginalized or unseen. Her story reminds us that representation matters, not as a token, but as a transformative force. In a political climate that often feels cold and ruthless, Sarah McBride brings warmth, compassion, and integrity. Her fight is far from over, but her presence in Congress is itself a declaration: that justice is possible, that progress is real, and that the arc of history bends just a little more quickly when warriors like her lead the way.
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