Photo: Janelle Sarauw For Congress/Facebook
Janelle Sarauw will become the first openly LGBTQ+ person elected to represent the U.S. Virgin Islands in Congress after winning Tuesday’s (November 3) delegate election.
Sarauw received 13,029 votes, accounting for 76.93% of the ballots cast in the race, according to the Virgin Islands Consortium.
She will succeed Stacey Plaskett, who was elected governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands on Tuesday after representing the territory in Congress since January 2015.
Sarauw celebrated her victory in a statement shared to social media Wednesday (November 4), thanking residents for choosing her to represent the islands where she was born and raised.
“I woke up this morning with a heart overflowing with gratitude, trying to process the magnitude of what you have entrusted me to do,” she wrote. “I am going to Congress to represent the place I have loved my entire life. The place that raised me. The place that has given me so much of who I am.”
Before pursuing the congressional seat, Sarauw served three terms in the Virgin Islands Legislature, first taking office in 2017.
In her statement, she also addressed residents who voted for other candidates, saying she would represent them as well.
“To those who supported another candidate, I extend my hand to you with the same sincerity. I am your representative, too,” she wrote. “There is no separate Virgin Islands for those who voted for me and those who did not.”
As the U.S. Virgin Islands’ delegate to Congress, Sarauw will be able to introduce bills and vote on legislation in House committees, but cannot vote on final legislation on the House floor. She will also advocate for federal policies and funding that affect the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Her two-year term is scheduled to begin January 3, 2027.
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