Democratic stronghold Vermont has successfully nominated its first transgender state legislator. Democrat and Vermont Progressive Party member Taylor Small will head to the Vermont House of Representatives for the state’s Chittenden 6-7 District.
Small’s campaign announced her victory at 6:29pm CT, shortly after the state’s polls closed at 6pm CT. Small is one of the first openly transgender politicians to be elected to a state legislature, and her campaign claims she is the fifth transgender legislator in the U.S.
“Congratulations @TaylorSmallVT for making history in Vermont!” LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD tweeted in response to the news.
Small works as the Pride Center of Vermont’s health and wellness director and has a background in mental health care. She is supportive of both single-payer healthcare and “Medicare for All” in Vermont, she told LGBTQ Nation, and believes the state can “be the leader” in introducing the progressive health care policy nationwide. Small is also supportive of defunding and reforming law enforcement, including defunding the Vermont State Police by 30%, according to her campaign website.
“By redistributing these funds, we can improve our schools and youth homelessness services, enhance mental health response teams, and finance community violence prevention programs,” Small’s campaign site notes.
In 2018, Danica Roem became the first openly transgender woman nominated to a U.S. state legislature and the first transgender politician to serve in Virginia’s House of Delegates. Two years later, the general election looks to be an enormous night for trans politicians across the U.S.
A Twitter thread by trans journalist Sydney Bauer reveals a number of state and local elections for trans candidates, including incumbents such as Roem. Human Rights Campaign national press secretary Sarah McBride became the first transgender state senator after winning a seat in Delaware on Tuesday. Mauree Turner is a Black nonbinary candidate running for the Oklahoma House of Representatives.
The Daily Dot reached out to Small’s campaign for comment.
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