Virginia elects first transgender official
WASHINGTON: A 33-year-old transgender Democrat was being lauded as a pioneer on Wednesday after she won a seat in the Virginia state legislature against a Republican incumbent who openly boasted of being a “homophobe.”
“Discrimination is a disqualifier and the message of inclusion is a winning message,” Danica Roem, a former reporter and singer told AFP.
“It’s humbling and I know I have a big responsibility right now -- get results,” Roem said in a telephone interview following her landmark victory.
Roem defeated Robert Marshall, a staunchly conservative Republican who had represented the 13th District in Prince William County for 26 years, by 54.4% to 45.6% in a contest that drew national attention.
Roem will become the first openly transgender state lawmaker in the United States when she takes up her seat in the Virginia House of Delegates in the state capital, Richmond.
Democrats made stunning gains in the Republican-controlled Virginia legislature on Tuesday and romped to victory in the governor’s race in what some analysts described as a wave of anti-Trump sentiment.
During a hard-fought campaign, the 73-year-old Marshall refused to refer to Roem in interviews or campaign literature as “she” or to agree to a debate.
Marshall once boasted of being Virginia’s “chief homophobe” and was the author of a bill that would have forced transgender people to use the bathroom corresponding to their sex at birth.
He also co-authored a bill banning gay marriage. AFP