Republican congressional nominee Joseph Arminio was thrown out of a Delaware candidate forum after referring to Democratic Rep. Sarah McBride, who is transgender, with male pronouns, only to face criticism from another Republican running statewide. The confrontation happened on Thursday, September 17th, as a moderator warned Arminio that he would be removed if he didn’t show “respect” to McBride. Arminio later used another male term while answering a question, prompting organizers to order him off the stage. Republican Senate nominee Mike Katz went further by publicly demanding that Arminio abandon his campaign.
Arminio is challenging McBride for Delaware’s lone seat in the House of Representatives. McBride, who self-identifies as transgender, became the first openly trans member of Congress after winning the seat in 2024. The forum was co-sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Delaware and the Wilmington Chapter of Hadassah and included candidates for the House and Senate. The trouble began when Arminio referred to McBride using male pronouns during his opening remarks.
Arminio initially referred to McBride as “his” while discussing the incumbent’s conduct in Congress. He later began saying “he’s accomplished” before correcting himself to “she is accomplished” as members of the audience reacted. Arminio thanked someone for the correction and attempted to continue his remarks. Moderator Ken Grant then stepped in and told Arminio that he was receiving his final warning over his conduct toward the other candidates.
As NBC10 Philadelphia reported, the confrontation resumed when Arminio later answered a question about health care. During that response, he referred to “gentlemen like the two here” while gesturing toward McBride and Democratic Sen. Chris Coons. The audience reacted immediately, and Arminio attempted to keep speaking over the disruption. Organizers stopped the discussion and told the Republican candidate to leave the stage.
Katz responded to the controversy by apologizing to the audience and the other candidates for Arminio’s remarks. The Republican Senate nominee cited his work as a physician and said he believed in the “common humanity” of the candidates onstage. Katz added that he felt “pain” over what Arminio had said and offered his own apology for the remarks. His reaction turned the dispute between political opponents into a public disagreement between Delaware’s two statewide GOP nominees.
Arminio acknowledged that he had “committed an error,” saying it was neither the first mistake he had made nor the last he would make during the campaign or in his life. When organizers went to remove him, McBride attempted to intervene on the Republican candidate’s behalf. “I don’t want this gentleman to not be able to have the ability to…” McBride began before being interrupted. Katz called from the stage for Arminio to be removed, and the Republican House nominee was escorted from the forum.
Watch the confrontation and Arminio’s removal here:
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McBride’s attempt to keep Arminio at the event didn’t stop Katz from escalating the dispute after the forum ended. WHYY reported that McBride later declined to comment beyond a statement posted on social media. The Democrat said politicians seeking viral attention wouldn’t distract from a focus on lowering the costs of gas, groceries, housing, childcare, and health care. McBride also used the closing statement at the forum to criticize politicians who “want to create fights.”
Katz released a written statement criticizing Arminio’s conduct and describing the standards expected of candidates for public office. He argued that policy disagreements didn’t provide an excuse for treating an opponent disrespectfully and cited Arminio’s conduct after receiving a warning from the moderator. Katz said repeating the conduct after acknowledging the first incident raised “serious concerns” about the standards expected of those seeking public office.
The Republican Senate nominee closed his response by opposing Arminio’s continued campaign for Delaware’s lone House seat. Katz said he had personally called for Arminio’s removal from the stage and described the dispute as bigger than party or politics. He then demanded that his fellow Republican withdraw from the general-election race against McBride. Katz declared, “For these reasons, I am calling on Joseph Arminio to withdraw his candidacy for the United States House of Representatives.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.