Andrea Jenkins becomes first openly transgender woman of color elected to U.S. public office

A polling place.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

By winning a seat on the Minneapolis City Council Tuesday night, Andrea Jenkins is now the first openly transgender woman of color elected to public office in the United States.

Jenkins has worked as a policy aid to the council's vice president, and campaigned on raising the minimum wage and making housing more affordable. She defeated three other candidates to win the seat in Ward 8, and told the Minneapolis Star Tribune she is "feeling elated" and "really, really deeply proud of my community." History was also made in Virginia, where Danica Roem became the country's first openly transgender state lawmaker.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.