Voters in Vermont on Tuesday elected
Taylor Small, the state's first transgender state legislator.
Small, who was endorsed by the LGBTQ
Victory Fund, ran unopposed.
“The impact of Taylor’s
groundbreaking victory cannot be overstated,” LGBTQ Victory Fund
President & CEO Annise Parker said in a statement. “There are
so few transgender people in elected office that nearly every win is
a historic one, yet with each barrier broken comes more trans people
inspired to do the same. Even pro-equality states like Vermont need
trans voices in government to ensure the priorities and concerns of
the community are heard. Taylor will bring that perspective to the
state House and Vermont can be a leader on trans equality because of
it.”
According to the Victory Fund, only
four out transgender people are serving in state legislatures. The
first to win a seat was Virginia Delegate Danica Roem in 2017. Roem
not only created history with her election, but she also unseated a
vocal opponent of LGBT rights, Bob Marshall.
Victory Fund has endorsed four
additional non-incumbent transgender legislative candidates on
Tuesday's ballot, including Stephanie Byer of Kansas, Madeline Eden
of Texas, Jessica Katzenmeyer of Wisconsin, and Sarah McBride of
Delaware.