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Democrat Victoria Broderick not only won her race last week to become Tennessee’s first out queer member of Congress, but she also unseated an eight-term Republican who beat her by more than 40 points in 2024.
And she did it all with less than $100,000.
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“I know it was a shock for the rest of the country, but it wasn’t a shock for our team,” Broderick told Axios. The mother of two, who won by 280 votes, joins 15 LGBTQ+ victors in the House and two more in the Senate who will soon make up the most LGBTQ+ Congress in history.
While celebrating her stunning victory, Broderick also spoke up for trans rights, telling the media, “Trans people aren’t the reason your gas and grocery prices are getting more expensive. Any politician talking about the trans community is lazy. They’re lazy, and they are neglecting answering real questions and actually addressing the issues.”
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“Trans rights are human rights,” she added. “That’s not a radical thought. People deserve to live freely in this country. And if we’re not going to protect those amongst us that are the most vulnerable, that’s unacceptable to me.”
Affordability is one major focus for the mother of two. “Rich people aren’t thinking about milk and eggs, but anyone who’s working class isthinking about that price,” Broderick told WPLN. News. “I’m one of them… I drive into Alabama so that I can save money on groceries.”
She also told Axios that she hopes her victory will inspire Democrats to invest more in Tennessee. “Tennessee is not a red state,” she said. “It’s a nonvoting gerrymandered state.”
Analysts across the country were stunned by Broderick’s race as they watched the results come in. The district, which went for Donald Trump by 24 points in 2024, was never supposed to be competitive.
In a statement celebrating her win, she promised that no one “will ever be able to buy my vote.”
“This win is a testament to the fact that working-class people, people just like you, have a place in deciding your today and your tomorrow.”
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