Taylor Small Elected As Vermont's First Openly Transgender State Legislator
By Jason Hall
November 4, 2020
The city of Winooski made history on Election Day by electing Vermont's first openly transgender member of the state House of Representatives.
Taylor Small, 26, who ran on both the Democratic and Progressive nomination, received 2,423 votes, which equaled 29.59%, in the two seat Chittenden 6-7 district, according to projected results on the Vermont Secretary of State Election website.
“It hasn’t fully sunk in yet, and I don’t know when it will,” Small told the Burlington Free Press after her victory. She said she viewed a political career as a "long-term goal," but initially "didn't see it happening at the age of 26."
Small said she hopes her campaign inspires young LGBTQ+ people to follow their own political aspirations. The Vermont native moved with her family to Western Massachusetts when she was 5, and back to Vermont in 2010 with her mother after her parents separated.
Small is currently the director of the health and wellness program at Price Center of Vermont and performs locally at drag shows with Emoji Nightmare under the persona, Nikki Champagne. As Nikki Champagne, Small participated in Drag Queen Story Hours in Vermont libraries and spoke at the Vermont Legislature of the need to reach people who might normally be marginalized three years ago.