The Utah and Colorado primaries held some exciting news this year: Voters have chosen two transgender women, both named Misty, to run for U.S. Congress as members of the Democratic party in November's election.
30-year-old Misty Snow of Salt Lake City will compete against Republican Senator Mike Lee. Snow is the first transgender person nominated by a major U.S. political party to run for a Senate seat, theSalt Lake Tribune reports.
"A lot of people have told me whether I win or lose, I'm already making a difference just by running," Snow told the Tribune.
Despite her historical status, Snow has not emphasized her sexuality. Instead, Snow has been campaigning on a progressive platform that directly challenges Lee, one of America’s most conservative senators.
Snow, a grocery store clerk, decided to enter the race because she wanted to offer voters an alternative to competitor Jonathan Swinton. Despite Swinton leading in the state convention, Snow garnered enough support to warrant a primary. Apparently, she was an alternative people were willing to take—unofficial primary returns showed that Snow lead over Swinton by nearly 20 percentage points.
According to the Tribune, Snow credited this success to her focus on "issues that Democrats care about," such as abortion rights. As a centrist Democrat, Swinton took middle-of-the-line stances on most issues, such as suggesting limits to abortion rights. This seemed to be a weak point for the 35-year-old Mormon massage therapist.
Snow's campaign also focuses on raising the minimum wage, providing paid parental leave, legalizing marijuana, reforming the criminal-justice system and reducing tuition for postsecondary education. Her progressive stances are reportedly inspired by Bernie Sanders' platform, so Snow is definitely #FeelingTheBern.
Meanwhile, transgender 33-year-old Misty Plowright won the Democratic nomination in Colorado to run for the House of Representatives against Rep. Doug Lamborn, Fox News reports. Plowright, who was also inspired by the Sanders campaign, describes herself as "an Army veteran, a self-educated woman, a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and a passionate social democrat."
Snow has lived openly as a woman since October 2014 and believes that being transgender, which is extremely rare in U.S. politics, will have a positive impact on the political community. "This shows LGBT people that being LGBT is not a barrier to running for political office," Snow said, according to the Daily Mail, "You can be you, and people will respect you for that."
Transgender rights have been at the focal point of social politics, especially after North Carolina passed a law banning transgender people from using the bathroom that corresponded to the gender with which they identified. Now, more than ever, may be the perfect time to have two transgender Mistys running for public office.