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.