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“I approach my life as being a good neighbor,” he said. “I want to be somebody who can be a role model as well. I may be the first, but I’m not going to be the last.”
Deuso also claimed voters cared more about community issues than gender politics. “It didn’t matter about my history or my identity. What matters is that I’m going to be that neighbor they can count on,” he said, noting humorously that, “I’ve gotten more questions about our good neighbor Christmas parade than I have about my gender identity.”
Backed by National Activist Groups
While Deuso insists identity didn’t factor into the campaign, national activist groups tell a different story. According to ABC Philadelphia, Deuso was among more than 170 candidates endorsed by the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, an organization that financially supports left-leaning candidates who identify as part of the LGBT community.
“We’re seeing more people getting elected, not because they’re trans but because they’re the best people to serve in those offices,” said Daniel Hernandez, the group’s vice president of political programming. He celebrated Deuso’s win as a “major victory” against what he described as “anti-transgender rhetoric.”
A Symbol in a Larger Political Agenda
For many conservatives, this election is less about local governance and more about the growing influence of identity-based campaigning across America. The LGBTQ+ Victory Fund boasted record numbers of wins in 2024, part of a national strategy to normalize gender ideology in public life.
“The year of attacks against the trans community and the LGBT community are backfiring,” Hernandez claimed. Critics, however, say it’s not “attacks” but legitimate public debate over policies—like biological males in women’s sports or bathrooms—that are being dismissed as hate speech.
From Delaware to Pennsylvania—A Trend Accelerates
Deuso’s election follows Delaware’s decision last year to send its own transgender candidate, Sarah McBride, to Congress—the first in U.S. history. McBride, who has close ties to President Joe Biden, has reportedly influenced his administration’s progressive stance on gender issues. Biden even wrote the foreword for McBride’s book in 2018.
As Pennsylvania’s first transgender mayor prepares to take office, one thing is certain: the political left will continue using these identity milestones as proof of “progress,” while conservatives see them as a symptom of a culture obsessed with symbolism over substance.
In Downingtown, the residents will soon find out whether Mayor Deuso’s promises to be a “good neighbor” will hold up—or if the small city has just become another stage for national politics disguised as local leadership.
