Danica Roem (born: 30 September 1984) was a Democratic member of the Virginia House of Delegates from District 13 from 10 January 2018 to 10 January 2024, succeeding Bob Marshall. She was the first transgender state legislator in United States history.
Biography[]
Roem was born in Manassas, Virginia in 1984, and she was influenced by US Senator Chuck Colgan and delegate Harry Parrish during her youth. She pursued a journalistic career with the Gainesville Times, Prince William Times, and Montgomery County Sentinel, and she transitioned from male to female from 2012 to 2015. In 2017, she ran for the House of Delegates as a Democrat, facing the Republican incumbent Bob Marshall, who began a campaign of transphobic remarks in an attempt to defeat her. However, she defeated him with 53.72% of the vote to Marshall's 45.89%, becoming the first transgender state legislator in United States history.