By Mila Madison

Roem officially becomes the first openly transgender candidate to become a state legislator in the United States. At the time of this reporting, the race was called in her favor as she leads by a margin of 55%-45% with 95% of precincts reporting.

It was a race where she had to face continuous transphobic attacks from her opponent Bob Marshall and his supporters. Throughout the campaign, Marshall refused to acknowledge Roem’s identity while referring to her as “he” as he once asked a reporter, “Why do you call Danica a female? Did Danica’s DNA change?” Marshall also used anti-transgender propaganda in his fundraising emails while his supporters also started a robocall campaign demagoguing transgender kids and attacking Roem for being transgender.

“We're not going to let Del. Marshall and his anti-LGBTQ allies get away with this hate speech,” Roem had said in response to Marshall’s hurtful rhetoric. In the end, she did not let Marshall’s tactics deter her. Roem is now the state legislator in Virginia's 13th district.

https://twitter.com/Hannah_McDona1d/status/927905828576923648

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Roem’s win is a major victory for the transgender community and the struggle for equal rights.

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Update: Watch Roem's inspiring speech posted by @willdrabold on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/WillDrabold/status/928089450600529921?

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