As midterm elections draw closer, politicians across the country are competing to win their races. U.S. Representative Sarah McBride (D-DE) is pursuing a leadership position as one of the next co-chairs in the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC). She has asked her colleagues to support her in a letter posted on September 14 to social media. This would make her the first openly transgender person to serve on the DPCC if she is successful in her bid. Before she can move forward with her bid, McBride must first be re-elected to Delaware’s House seat, beating her opponent, Republican Joseph Arminio.
In her letter, McBride speaks of how she has been “moved by the mentorship, the friendship, and the simple sense of community (she has) witnessed through the highs and lows of serving in this chamber.” Throughout her letter, she emphasizes the collective strength of the Democratic caucus and unity between members.
Rep. Sarah McBride makes it official: She’s running for leadership
Specifically co-chair of House Democrats’ messaging arm —> https://t.co/iuAMHbZjZJ
— Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) September 15, 2026
McBride also wrote of her time as the national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and emphasized that these conversations were built on common ground rather than shame over disagreement.
McBride listed her three focuses as a DPCC co-chair in the letter as well. She wrote that she wants to focus on making the messaging program of the DPCC tailored to the specific district a congressperson represents, building media and podcast support for members, and make the work done in districts known nationally.
As mentioned previously, McBride must first win re-election against Republican Joseph Arminio before she can be a potential co-chair. Arminio’s campaign focused on affordability, reducing U.S. involvement in foreign conflicts, and increasing immigration enforcement, but a questionnaire from iVoterGuide pointed to him agreeing with anti-LGBTQ+ policy positions.
Arminio “strongly agreed” with the following statements:
- “Attempts to physically or socially transition a child to the opposite sex constitute child abuse.”
- “Biological males should not be allowed to participate in women’s sports or occupy biological women’s spaces whether it be bathrooms, locker rooms, sorority houses, women’s shelters, or prison.”
- “Marriage is a God-ordained, sacred and legal union of one man and one woman. No government has the authority to alter this definition.”
The likelihood of Arminio beating McBride is low. Republicans have not won Delaware’s single House seat since 2008. During the 2024 election, McBride won 57.9% of the vote, whereas her Republican opponent, John Whalen III won just 42.1%.
