We have discussed the importance of social identities for politicians. For example, being an atheist is political suicide and in New York a blended ethnic background is desirable.
Polls suggest that large percentages of Americans still refuse to vote for a homosexual, atheist, or Muslim candidate for President, no matter how qualified that candidate is for the presidency.
The election of Obama showed that race no longer needs to be an absolute barrier for aspiring African American politicians. However, in a small town in Oregon, another miracle has happened. Stu Rasmussen was elected the mayor of Silverton, becoming the first transgendered mayor in the U.S.
Huffington Post article
Side Note - To the best of my knowledge Mayor Rasmussen is gender-nonconforming and not transgender. Transgender is often used as an umbrella term, which would include gender nonconforming. However, transgender, as it strictly means, refers to someone who identifies with a gender that is the opposite of their biological sex. To my knowledge, Stu identifies with neither gender, which falls under the classification of gender nonconforming and not transgender.
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