AU’s Alumni Association congratulates Eagles who ran for and won election in 2024. Former Rising Star Award recipient Sarah McBride, SPA/BA ’13, will become the first openly transgender member of Congress, representing her home state of Delaware.  

“I know how much this win would have meant to me as a young person as I faced my own crisis of hope and wondered whether the heart of this nation was big enough to love me, too,” Representative-Elect McBride said. “My journey back to hope started in the halls of American University, where, when I came out, I was met with respect, love, and acceptance from my peers and leaders on campus.” 

McBride made national headlines in 2012 for coming out as transgender in an op-ed published the day after her term as AU student body president ended. On accepting the university’s Rising Star Award in 2018, she said, “It is through my experiences here at American that I was able to find not only my voice but my courage.” In 2021, McBride was elected as the nation’s first transgender state senator. 

Of making history once again as an elected leader, McBride said, “As I reflect on this moment and this election, the invaluable lessons I learned as an Eagle will guide me, the community will sustain me, and our love for country will counsel me in the darkest moments. Pro deo et patria.” 

Four other AU alumni also serve in the United States House of Representatives. Julia Brownley, Kogod/MBA ’79, won reelection in California’s 26th district, as she has in each cycle since 2012. Another former AU Alumni Award winner, Jim McGovern, CAS/BA ’81, SPA/MPA ’84, has represented Massachusetts’ second district since 1996. Haley Stevens, SPA/BA ’05, CAS/MA ’07, won a fourth term representing Michigan’s eleventh district. And Stacey Plaskett, WCL/JD ’94, will again serve as Delegate to the House of Representatives from the US Virgin Islands’ at-large district. 

More than a dozen other AU alumni were elected in state and local races, joining the many others serving their communities across the globe. Each is representative of the premise of our newest campus initiative, The Civic Life, which promotes civic engagement through special events and opportunities for learning and reflection.  

Congratulations to all these and the many AU Eagles who dream big dreams.  

Do you know alumni who won in recent elections? Share the news by emailing us at alumni@american.edu.