Danica Roem Gets the Best Seat in the House and on Our List of People We Love

They took risks, defied expectations, spoke out, redefined cool and made us proud to call them members and allies of our community.

Danica Roem

Journalist, Mom and politician, Danica Roem is also trans and, when we put her on our list it was with fingers crossed that she’d win a place in the Virginia House of Delegates. Now that she’s won her race, Roem will be the first trans person seated in Virginia’s State Legislature. She won the Democratic primary last June and in the November elections she beat an incumbent of 25 years, Republican Bob Marshall. Last fall, Roem uploaded a web video titled Just Who I Am, in which she challenged her rival’s continued refusal to either debate or refer to her as a woman. As she sees it, “there are millions of transgender people in the country, and we all deserve representation in government.” During the general election cycle, she out-fundraised Marshall five to one. And in her spare time, she still sings in a metal band called Cab Ride Home. How’s that for a Renaissance Woman?

Check out our previous honoree, Master of None actress Lena Waithe.

Want more inspiration? Check out our People We Love section to learn about past year’s People We Love. Also from our archives, read Looking Back on the Heroes of Marriage Equality.