By RANDALL CHASE Associated Press

DOVER, Del. (AP) — Delaware state Sen. Sarah McBride has been elected to the U.S. House and will become the first openly transgender person to serve in Congress.

McBride easily defeated Republican John Whalen III Tuesday in the race for Delaware’s lone House seat. Whalen is a retired construction company owner and former state trooper who ran a low-key campaign in his first run for public office.

Meanwhile, McBride has established a national profile as an LGBTQ activist and has raised more than $3 million in campaign contributions from around the country. She gained national recognition at the 2016 Democratic National Convention as the first openly transgender person to address a major party convention in the United States.

“Tonight is a testament to the people of Delaware that we have shown time and time again that in this neighboring state we judge candidates on their ideas, not their identity,” McBride said.

“I didn’t run to make history. I ran to make a difference for my state and for this country,” she added. “I think this is a strong message that Delawareans are fair and that our democracy is big enough for all of us.”

As a state senator, McBride earned a reputation for working on health care issues, including successfully sponsoring legislation to create a statewide paid sick and family leave insurance program. McBride also sponsored legislation to address Medicaid reimbursement rates for home health care services and to expand access to dental care for low-income Delawareans. Another bill she sponsored imposed a 3.58 percent tax on the net income of Delaware hospitals as a way to leverage additional federal Medicaid funds. All these measures have been transposed into law.

Democrats have held Delaware’s U.S. House seat since 2010. The seat was left open last year after Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester chose to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by fellow Democrat Tom Carper.