Image: Getty

We were hoping for more good news today—a bottle of Moët that I promised I would only open once Trump lost the election is still sitting in my fridge unopened—but in among the chaos of this remarkably close presidential election, there are slivers of good news worth celebrating. Sarah McBride, for example, who today became the first openly trans state Senator in American history.

McBride, a trans activist and the national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign, won the state Senate race in Delaware by a landslide, nabbing 73% of votes. This makes the 30-year-old Democrat America’s highest ranking openly trans politician. McBride is only the fifth trans lawmaker in American politics, following in the footsteps of Brianna Titone in Colorado; Gerri Cannon and Lisa Bunker in New Hampshire and Danica Roem of Virginia.

McBride, who was also the first openly trans intern in the White House’s history in 2012, took to social media to thank her supporters with a succinct message: “We did it. We won the general election. Thank you thank you, thank you.”

Speaking to them in October, McBride discussed the “great responsibility” she feels to advocate for the trans community.  “It’s a responsibility that I feel very deeply,” she said. “But at the same time, I’m not running to make history or make headlines. I’m running to make a difference in my community.” Later, in her victory speech, she asserted her wish to inspire other LGBTQ+ youth to get into politics. “It is my fervent hope that tonight a young person in Delaware… or anywhere in this country can go to sleep with a powerful but simple message: that our democracy is big enough for them too.”