Tennessee elects its first transgender lawmaker

Nashville voters elected Tennessee’s first transgender lawmaker Thursday, according to the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, a political action group that aims to elect queer people to public office.

The historic victory comes months after Tennessee made national headlines for passing laws that restrict certain drag performances and prohibit transition-related medical care for minors.

Olivia Hill, 57, won one of Nashville Metro Council’s four nonpartisan seats up for grabs, securing 12.9% of the vote, according to election data site Ballotpedia. She served in the Navy for 10 years as an engineer before working as an engineer for Vanderbilt University, according to her campaign website. She has also been a vocal LGBTQ advocate in Nashville and beyond, serving on the board of directors for the Tennessee Pride Chamber, the website says.

“My expertise is fixing things, and while my focus for my native city is repairing Nashville’s outdated infrastructure, I also want to ensure that Nashville is represented with true diversity in a state where the ruling party thinks I should head to the closet,” she said in a statement prior to her win.