Virginia Elects First Transgender Official

MANASSAS, VA — Fueled by grassroots door-knocking and national fundraising, Danica Roem beat 13-term Republican Bob Marshall Tuesday night for the Prince William County seat in the Virginia House of Delegates. She's the first openly transgender elected official in the state and one of a handful in the nation.

With 19 of 20 precincts reporting, the 33-year-old Roem had a 10-point lead over Marshall, 73. Her win dovetails with that of fellow Democrat Ralph Northam, who unexpectedly breezed to win over Republican challenger Ed Gillespie in the race to succeed Gov. Terry McAuliffe.

Campaign topics between Roem and Marshall were focused on traffic and other local issues in Prince William County. But The Washington Post said the race also contrasted Roem's gender transition with the social conservative who called himself Virginia’s “chief homophobe” when he introduced a bill banning transgender bathroom use earlier in the year.

Roem's campaign website describes her as "a step-mom, local reporter and lifelong Manassas resident." She is also the vocalist for the metal band Cab Ride Home.

She has made the increasing traffic jams on Route 28 through the region a regular talking point in her campaign. She plans to use her tools as a journalist in Richmond as she dives into local government.

“Transgender people have really good public policy ideas that span the gamut of transportation policy to health care policy to education policy, and yes, to civil rights as well,” Roem told Mother Jones magazine. “We shouldn’t just be pigeonholed into the idea that we’re just going to be fighting about bathrooms.”

Another nuts and bolts issue she ran on was aging infrastructure, such as the need to replace out-of-date cast iron pipes to prevent water main breaks.

"I know water infrastructure is boring. I get it," Roem wrote on her Facebook page. "As one mayor ruefully told me, 'It's not sexy.' But it's extremely, extremely important."

In a September profile, Roem told Cosmopolitan.com that her candidacy gave others hope.

“The message that I can succeed because of my gender, not despite it, because of who I am without being afraid of who I am is a human message,” she said. “It's something that even if you are cisgender, but you have some reason that you've been singled out in your life, you have some reason that you've been stigmatized in your life, you've had some reason when you've been cornered in your life for being yourself, you can look at me and say, ‘If she can do this, so can I.’”

Watch Now: Virginia Elects First Openly Transgender Official

Photo: Danica Roem official campaign website