Chelsea Manning just made a major power move and filed to run as a democrat for the U.S. Senate in Maryland. If she wins, Manning will be the first openly transgender U.S. senator.
However, Chelsea, born Bradley, will have some stiff competition. The current Democratic senator, Ben Cardin, is planning to run for his third term in the 2018 primary.
But Manning is sure to be a standout candidate. While serving in the United States Army, Manning released nearly 750,000 confidential U.S. documents to Wikileaks, marking her as one of the biggest whistleblowers in history. She was later convicted and sentenced to 35 years in prison. It was while in prison that Manning received gender reassignment surgery. Last year, President Obama commuted her sentence to time served.
In addition to posing for Vogue's September issue, and being the focus of the upcoming Showtime documentaty "XY Chelsea," Manning uses her online platform to advocate for free speech, civil rights and for the LGBTQ community.
Manning moved to Maryland after her release from prison, and refers to the state as her home. She has yet to make a statement on her decision to run and did not immediately respond to Complex's request for comment.
Manning's filing comes after Virginia elected Danica Roem, the first openly transgender elected legislator in the United States, last November. Now Manning is set to make history herself with an eye for the Senate seat.
Maryland's primary election will be held on June 26, 2018.
