By defeating conservative 13-term incumbent Bob Marshall in Virginia's 13th House of Delegates district, Democrat Danica Roem will become the first openly transgender state lawmaker in U.S. history.
Marshall, who has called himself Virginia's "chief homophobe" and introduced an anti-transgender bathroom bill that never made it out of committee earlier this year, refused to debate Roem and used male pronouns throughout the campaign, The Washington Post reports. In an interview with the Post on Tuesday, Roem said "discrimination is a disqualifier. This is about the people of the 13th district disregarding fear tactics, disregarding phobias ... where we celebrate you because of who you are, not despite it." During the race, her main issue had been easing traffic congestion.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The history of Donald Trump's election conspiracy theoriesThe Explainer How the 2024 Republican nominee has consistently stoked baseless fears of a stolen election
-
Two ancient cities have been discovered along the Silk RoadUnder the radar The discovery changed what was known about the old trade route
-
'People shouldn't have to share the road with impaired drivers'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Moldova's pro-West president wins 2nd termSpeed Read Maia Sandu beat Alexandr Stoianoglo, despite suspicions of Russia meddling in the election
-
2024 race ends with swing state barnstormingSpeed Read Kamala Harris and Donald Trump held rallies in battlegrounds over the weekend
-
North Korea tests ICBM, readies troops in UkraineSpeed Read Thousands of North Korean troops are likely to join Russian action against Ukraine
-
Women take center stage in campaign finaleSpeed Read Harris and Trump are trading gender attacks in the final days before the election
-
US election: who the billionaires are backingThe Explainer More have endorsed Kamala Harris than Donald Trump, but among the 'ultra-rich' the split is more even
-
Supreme Court allows purge of Virginia voter rollsSpeed Read Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) is purging some 1,600 people from state voter rolls days before the election
-
'Empowered' Steve Bannon released from prisonSpeed Read Bannon was set free a week before Election Day and quickly returned to his right-wing podcast to promote Trump
-
Canada accuses top Modi ally of directing Sikh attacksSpeed Read Indian Home Minister Amit Shah was allegedly behind a campaign of violence and intimidation targeting Sikh separatists
