Who is Danica Roem? All about Virginia's first transgender state senator in the wake of a historic appointment

On November 7, Danica Roem created history by becoming the first openly transgender individual to be elected to Virginia’s Senate. She defeated Republican Bill Woolf by nearly 2000 votes to achieve this feat. Bill Woolf is a former Fairfax County police detective who was backed by Virginia Governor, Republican Glenn Youngkin.

Danica Roem, the 39-year-old former journalist from Virginia, will now be representing Virginia’s 30th District in the Senate. Following her victory, Roem expressed her gratitude on her official X account:

"I'm grateful the people of Virginia's 30th Senate District elected me to continue representing my lifelong home of western Prince William County and greater Manassas."

Danica Roem also mentioned that her win reflected that the voters of Virginia wanted a “leader who will prioritize fixing roads, feeding kids, and protecting our land,” rather than discriminate against trans children or take away their civil rights.

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Danica Roem is a former journalist

According to her official website, the 39-year-old Danica Roem is a former journalist born in Prince William County and raised in Manassas, both in Virginia. She attended St. Bonaventure University in New York from where she graduated with a degree in journalism in 2006.

Soon after this, she returned to Virginia and joined the Gainesville Times as a lead reporter, and later obtained the same role at Prince William Times. In 2015, she became a news editor at the Montgomery County Sentinel in Maryland, a position that she served until December 2016.

After more than a decade in journalism, Danica Roem, the seven-times recipient of the Virginia Press Association Award, actively joined politics in 2017 after becoming the first openly transgender person to serve in the 13th district of the Virginia House of Delegates.

In 2020, the Virginia lawmaker co-sponsored a bill to secure the freedom of the press in the lower chamber of the U.S. Congress. She has also penned the book Burn The Page: A True Story of Torching Doubts, Blazing Trails, and Igniting Change inspired by her own life. She hails Senator Chuck Colgan and Harry Parrish as her role models for their independent-mindedness.

As part of her senatorial campaign, Danica Roem focused on bipartisan bills, raising pay for educators, increasing access to better healthcare facilities, introducing hot meals in public schools, reducing traffic congestion, and preventing gun violence in the state.

Following her win, Annise Parker, the president and CEO of LGBTQ+ Victory Fund told CBS News in a statement that despite facing “anti-trans hate” during her campaign, Danica stood her ground.

Parker added:

"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."

Likewise, Sarah McBride, who became the USA’s first trans senator ever in 2020 Delaware congratulated Roem on social media saying:

"Virginia now gets one of the hardest working legislators in their upper chamber — and the US' trans senator caucus just doubled."

Meanwhile, Roem told during an interview with The Advocate last week that her opponents highlighted her s*xual identity, condemned her support for trans-student-athletes, and accused her of not protecting women’s sports by allowing “boys in girls’ spaces.”

It is noteworthy that Democrat Roem’s win comes amid the growing number of anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced across the nation, as per CBS News. However, as per LGBTQ+ Victory Fund’s statement to NBC News, eight other queer candidates also won legislative seats in Virginia, besides Danica Roem.