48 Days And Counting

More and more trans people are running for office… and getting elected.
You might remember the latest trans candidate from President Obama’s White House.

Sarah McBride Is Set to Be the Nation’s Highest-Ranking Transgender Official
Ms. McBride, who would be the first openly transgender person to serve in any state’s senate, won a primary for a safely Democratic seat in Delaware.
New York Times
By Reid J. Epstein
September 15, 2020


Delaware Democrats on Tuesday nominated Sarah McBride, a transgender rights activist, for a State Senate seat, advancing her bid to become the nation’s highest-ranking openly transgender elected official.

Ms. McBride, 30, defeated a token primary challenger and is widely expected to win the November general election — the Wilmington-based seat is safely Democratic and is being vacated by Harris B. McDowell III, who is retiring after representing the district for 44 years.

Ms. McBride said in an interview that she wanted her victory to inspire others. “My hope is that this result can help reinforce for a young kid trying to find their place in this world, here in Delaware or anywhere else in this country, that this democracy is big enough for them, too,” she said.
[…]
In 2016 she became the first transgender person to speak at a major party’s national convention when she took the stage before Democrats in Philadelphia.
[…]
No openly transgender person has been elected to any state’s senate, though four transgender lawmakers currently serve in lower chambers of state legislatures. Like those politicians, Ms. McBride said she had not focused on identity while campaigning. Her would-be constituents, she said, are far more concerned about her views about health care and education policy.

Here in Connecticut we have some elected trans people in office, and I serve on the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Health and Human Services Network legislative committee. We have been tasked with “make recommendations to the state legislative, executive and judicial branches of government concerning the delivery of health and human services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender
and queer persons in the state.”

                                                         I am over in the back on the right side.

Many other trans people are thinking about running for office and I have a few tip for them.

The first rule of running for office is raising money, the higher the office the more money you will need (I know that stinks but it is a fact of life. You need money to run your campaign office, you need money to run ads).

So where do you begin?

Well it actually begins long before you even begin before you throw your hat in the ring. You need to learn how to run a campaign. I went to Humphreys Institute for Political Social Work Campaign School at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work. Through the Campaign School I learned about EMILY’s List. EMILY’s List website says their mission is,

Our vision is a government that reflects the people it serves, and decision makers who genuinely and enthusiastically fight for greater opportunity and better lives for the Americans they represent. We will work for larger leadership roles for pro-choice Democratic women in our legislative bodies and executive seats so that our families can benefit from the open-minded, productive contributions that women have consistently made in office.

When I was taking the workshop the women from Emily’s List tried to talk me into running.

Yeah you can run on your own but it helps to have people at your back who you can ask questions to, questions like “How do I develop my campaign platform?” “How do I register my candidacy?” and “How do I file a campaign finance statement and when do I need to file?” Answers to questions like that I learned at the Campaign School.

EMILY’s List helped Sarah McBride in her run for office.

You need to do it first gathering up your friends and like minded individuals, you need to hit them up for cash and another source of funding for trans candidates is the Victory Fund.

LGBTQ Victory Fund works to change the face and voice of America’s politics and achieve equality for LGBTQ Americans by increasing the number of openly LGBTQ officials at all levels of government.

Another source you should tap into are seminars on how to lobby, here in Connecticut every year Gallo  & Robinson hold a Connecticut Lobbying Conference which I attended twice. Even though it is not about running for office it help in understanding the legislative process and know your way around the capitol.