Victory positions Whaley to become Michigan’s first transgender state legislator
Joanna Whaley won the Democratic primary on Tuesday for Michigan’s 2nd statehouse district, a Democratic stronghold, defeating former state representative Frank Liberati and Gary Schlack. The primary victory sends Whaley to the Nov. 3 general election, where she will face Republican Ronald Kokinda.
The seat is currently held by Tullio Liberati, Frank Liberati’s brother. If Whaley wins in November, she would become the first transgender member of Michigan’s state legislature, according to The Guardian.
Whaley, 38, grew up in a Catholic family and spent nearly two decades working as a pastor at an evangelical megachurch. The church forced her to undergo Christian conversion therapy with four different therapists over 15 years, according to The Guardian. Church leaders forced her to quit in 2022 after discovering she was contemplating a gender transition. She subsequently worked as a hospital chaplain in emergency rooms, intensive care units, and hospice.
Earlier this year, Frank Liberati sought to have Whaley disqualified from the ballot over her name change. The Wayne County clerk’s office dismissed the challenge, finding that Whaley’s candidate affidavit was legal and proper, according to The Guardian.
Sarah McBride, the first openly transgender member of the U.S. Congress, congratulated Whaley on social media, writing that Whaley “faced indignities from her opponent, channeled the energy into knocking on doors, doubled down on her economic agenda, and she defeated that former Dem legislator (who took the low road against her) by 30+%!”
Whaley received endorsements from the LGBTQ Victory Fund, Run for Something, Her Bold Move, and Families United for Trans Rights, according to The Guardian.