Danica Roem Makes History Again and Is Elected Virginia's First Transgender State Senator

Julia Rendleman for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Danica Roem was the first transgender person seated in any state legislature. During her campaign for state Senate, she faced transphobia but emerged victorious on Election Day.

Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.

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Trudy Ring

November 07 2023 10:37 PM EST

November 07 2023 11:18 PM EST

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Danica Roem has been elected Virginia’s first out transgender state senator.

Tuesday night, Roem was leading Republican Bill Woolf by about 52 percent to 48 percent with all but a few ballots counted, giving her a victory in Senate District 30, numerous media outlets report.

Roem, a Democrat, is in her third term in the Virginia House of Delegates, representing a district that includes the northern Virginia cities of Manassas and Manassas Park, plus western Prince William County. She was the first out trans person seated in any state legislature.

She decided to run for Senate in the newly created District 30 after redistricting split her house district three ways. She will be the nation’s second out trans state senator — Sarah McBride in Delaware was the first — as well as the first in Virginia or in any southern state.

During the race, Republicans attacked Roem with transphobic fliers.

“Danica faced an unprecedented deluge of anti-trans hate on the campaign trail, but she was not fazed nor distracted,” noted a statement from LGBTQ+ Victory Fund President and CEO Annise Parker. “She made LGBTQ+ history tonight because she put constituents first, speaking to the real issues that impact children and their families in Virginia, from fixing roads to ensuring kids and families have food on the table. Her win tonight will make national headlines and serves as a deafening rebuke to bigots who continue to try and silence the LGBTQ+ community and trans people in particular.”