‘Trying to process the magnitude’: Janelle Sarauw becomes first openly LGBTQ delegate to Congress representing the U.S. Virgin Islands

The former USVI senator secured more than half the votes in her historic victory. 

After making history in local politics in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Janelle Sarauw is headed to Congress. 

On Tuesday, Nov. 3, the 41-year-old former senator and Democrat won her race for V.I. delegate to Congress after she defeated her opponent, Shelley A. H. Moorhead by securing 76.93% of the votes, the V.I. Consortium reported.  

“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 in a lengthy statement on Facebook.

She continued, “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. And I get to do so because you believed in me.”

The St. Thomas native, educator, and three-term senator, who made history as the territory’s first openly LGBTQ senator and youngest woman to serve in its legislature, will also become the first openly LGBTQ person to represent the Virgin Islands in Congress. She will succeed Stacey Plaskett, who, after nearly 12 years as the territory’s nonvoting delegate, won her own historic gubernatorial race Tuesday, becoming the first woman elected governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Sarauw’s political career formally began in 2017 when she won a special election to represent the St. Thomas-St. John district in the territorial legislature. During her three terms, she became a fierce champion of healthcare, education, consumer protections, and government transparency.

“I have been privileged to serve these islands before as your local Senator for three terms, and I know that public service is not always easy,” her statement continued. “There will be difficult decisions, disagreements, and challenges that cannot be resolved overnight. But I have never been afraid of the work, and I have never believed that leadership should place anyone above the people they serve.”

Like several other Black Democratic candidates who emerged victorious Tuesday, she also extended a unifying olive branch to voters who did not support her.

“To those who supported another candidate, I extend my hand to you with the same sincerity,” she said, adding, “I am your representative, too. There is no separate Virgin Islands for those who voted for me and those who did not. We share the same home, the same challenges, and the same hopes for a better tomorrow.”

During her two-year term kicking off on Jan. 3, 2027,  the nonvoting delegate to the House will be able to introduce legislation, serve on committees, and advocate for federal policies affecting the islands.

“I cannot promise perfection or overnight miracles,” she made clear in her statement. 

“But I can promise hard work, honesty, accessibility, and a genuine commitment to doing right by the people of the Virgin Islands,” she continued. “I love these islands with every fiber of my being, and as I prepare to carry our voices, our stories, our struggles, and our aspirations to Washington, D.C., I do so with a full heart, a humble spirit, and an abiding faith in what we can accomplish together.”