Today, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced a landmark decision, transgender people can now openly serve in the U.S. Military. But, also this week, voters in two states decided on firsts for transgendered Americans as well. Utah’s Misty Snow and Colorado’s Misty Plowright were both chosen by their state’s Democratic parties to run for Congress.
Snow and Plowright’s primary victories made them the first transgendered people to ever be selected by a major U.S. political party to run for Congress. Snow, a 30-year-old grocery-store employee, won a decisive victory over Democrat Jonathan Swinton by nearly 20 percentage points. Plowright, a 33-year-old IT employee, won her primary by defeating Democrat Donald Martinez by a margin of 13,000 to 9,600 votes. Her campaign was notable for its catchy slogan: “Let’s Plowright into congress.”
Although being elected as their parties’ nominees is a tremendous landmark in American politics, both candidates face tremendous uphill battles in their states. Snow will run against Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, who won his last election by 29 points. Plowright will face Republican Doug Lamborn, who won his last election by over 20 points in one of Colorado’s most conservative districts.
