In first, transgender woman wins Democratic nomination for Vermont governor

By Daniel Trotta

(Reuters) – Vermont Democrats made Christine Hallquist the first openly transgender person to win a major party nomination for statewide office in U.S. history as she clinched Tuesday’s primary election for governor.

She defeated three other Democrats and will take on incumbent Governor Phil Scott, a Republican, in the Nov. 6 general election, unofficial results showed.

The win “is a defining moment in the movement for trans equality,” Annise Parker, president and CEO of LGBTQ Victory Fund, which seeks to elect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender candidates, said in a statement.

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The contest comes at a time of uncertainty for transgender rights, which expanded under the administration of Democratic President Barack Obama. They have been reversed under Republican President Donald Trump’s administration, a victory for religious conservatives who only recognize traditional gender roles.

Transgender candidates are hoping to build on the breakthrough year of 2017, when at least 10 won office across the country at levels ranging from state legislator to zoning board – the most ever recorded.

This year, 43 transgender candidates have run for political office at all levels in the United States, most of them Democrats but a few running as independents, for the Green Party or for nonpartisan offices, according to Logan Casey, a research associate at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Hallquist is the first openly transgender candidate to win a major party nomination for governor or a statewide office of any kind.

She enjoys name recognition as the former David Hallquist, the onetime chief executive of the Vermont Electric Cooperative who publicly transitioned to a female identity while leading the power utility in 2015.

While many transgender people eschew their name given at birth that they change upon transition, Hallquist has made David her middle name and comfortably speaks about her previous identity.

Her transition was documented in a film made by her son Derek Hallquist called “Denial.” Originally meant to be a documentary about the Vermont electric company dealing with climate change, it also became a personal story as Hallquist came out as transgender to Derek during the making of the film.

Before Vermont’s election, only four transgender candidates had won primaries in 2018, all at the statehouse level, and have a general election ahead. Seventeen have lost primary or general elections and 21 have yet to face voters, Casey’s research shows.

Vermont has a history of being first on gender-related issues. It was the first state to allow civil unions for same-sex couples in 2000 and in 2009 became the first state to legalize gay marriage through the state legislature.

(Editing by Colleen Jenkins)