A former Wichita band teacher will serve as the first transgender state lawmaker in Kansas. Unofficial results from Tuesday's election show 57-year-old Democrat Stephanie Byers of Wichita defeated Republican Cyndi Howerton and will represent a legislative district that includes parts of Wichita.
In an intervew with KSN News Byers said throughout the campaign that being transgender is only part of her identity, and she plans to focus on issues such as health care. But she acknowledged her election gives hope to the transgender community, particularly in deeply conservative Kansas.
"For a transgender person to be elected in the state of Kansas it opens the doors of possibilities for transgender people all across the united states to become more involved in the civic opportunities that are presented to them," said Byers.
Before Tuesday's election, there were four other transgender people serving in state legislatures in the U.S. Byers says she is eager to get to work in Topeka starting in January, but for now she will be spending then next several weeks and months working on a plan to expand medicaid in Kansas.
