Penn Medicine alumna Dana Beyer could make history tomorrow by becoming the first openly transgender person to run on a party ticket for state legislature.
However, Beyer, 54, faces tough competition as one of eight Democrats campaigning for three seats in the 18th district of the Maryland House of Delegates in the primary tomorrow.
"You don't make a decision like this lightly," Beyer said of her choice to run for office after a successful career as a surgeon.
Less than a handful of transgender candidates have run for office in the United States, although Beyer speculates there are a few closet transgender legislators currently in office.
But the transition from health care to politics should not be a difficult one: "I've practiced [medicine] and touched people one at a time. This is just a slightly different platform," she said.
And her medical background may actually be of use in the campaign.
Beyer says the biggest-ticket issue that she plans to address is health care. A strong proponent of universal health care, Beyer said she has had a sense since the 1970s that the current system had some serious problems. With her youngest son, an emergency medical technician and aspiring physician, graduating from high school this year, Beyer has added incentive to improve the system she has worked in for almost 30 years.
But, of course, voters will draw attention for more than her views on health care.
For Beyer, making the transition from being a man to woman has been a liberating and inspiring experience.
"I'm finally comfortable with myself. I've found my voice," she said.
"The main message from my life is that anything is possible if you believe in yourself, if you're willing to take risks [and] if you're willing to accept changes . anything truly is possible."
Beyer, who graduated from the Penn School of Medicine in 1978, was a member of a class particularly noted for its diversity.
"Forty-six of the living 146 class members are female and 24 have identified themselves as minorities," said Kristen Rozansky, senior director of Penn Med's alumni department.
"By today's standards, those are not exceptional numbers. However, for this time period in medical education, that was a high percentage of women in the class and also a high percentage of minority students," Rozansky added.
The last time an openly transgender candidate ran for state office was in the fall of 2005, when Amanda Simpson ran for a House seat in Arizona.
Simpson lost her campaign.
