Transgender woman Christine Hallquist makes history, winning Democrat primary to contest Vermont governor’s race
She becomes the first major-party trans candidate for governor in the US, while in Minnesota, a Somali-American woman is on track to enter Congress
Christine Hallquist has won the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in the US state of Vermont on Tuesday, moving a step closer to becoming the nation’s first transgender governor, US media projected.
“HISTORY MADE! @christineforvt just became the first trans/non-binary gubernatorial candidate from a major political party in American history!” the Victory Fund, an organisation that supports LGBTQ candidates, tweeted about Hallquist.
But she still faces an uphill battle in the general election, when she is projected to face Republican incumbent Phil Scott, who has been in office since 2016.
In 2015, “Christine made the decision, after years of holding it inside, to come out as her true self, a transgender woman, becoming the first business leader in the country to transition while in office,” according to her campaign’s website.
“Working to ensure that Vermont remains the special, inclusive and progressive place that it has always been … is what motivates Christine to seek the honour and opportunity to serve the people of Vermont as its next governor,” it says.
Hallquist beat out James Ehlers, a Navy veteran and environmentalist, and Brenda Siegel, the executive director of a dance festival, to win the Democratic nomination.