In a first for American politics, two transgender candidates have won congressional primaries in Utah and Colorado. In an even stranger twist, they are both named Misty.
On Tuesday, Democrat Misty K. Snow beat opponent Jonathan Swinton by nearly 20 percentage points to win the bid to run against Republican Senator Mike Lee for one of Utah’s U.S. Senate seats. Snow is a 30-year-old grocery store clerk from Salt Lake City. Her victory stemmed from running against Swinton’s moderate stance of limited abortion rights.
With her platform taking inspiration from Senator Bernie Sanders, Misty K. Snow is calling for a $15 minimum wage, criminal justice reform, legalized marijuana and free or reduced tuition for higher education.
Democrat Misty Plowright, an IT professional, beat opponent Donald E. Martinez in the Democratic primary for Colorado’s 5th seat in the U.S House of Representatives on Tuesday. She won the Democratic bid by over 16% of the vote and will face off against Republican incumbent Doug Lamborn in November.
Misty Plowright’s platform features a “new deal” style of economics, along with criminal justice reform, tuition reform for higher education, equality for marginalized groups, single payer health care and climate change.
Both candidates face an uphill battle, as their opponents are heavily favored in what are considered republican strongholds in each state. This is great news for the transgender community after congressional hopeful and former Navy Seal Kristin Beck recently lost her bid for Maryland’s 5th congressional district to incumbent Steny Hoyer back in April 2016.
