Democrat Danica Roem is our nation’s first out transgender individual to be elected and seated in a state legislature, elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. Her win was huge for the transgender community; Hayden Mora, the co-president of the Breakthrough Fund, targeted at financially supporting transgender individuals during their campaigns, stated that "hate groups did what they always do — they attempted to frighten and distract voters. But this time, they met a candidate who would not give up and, for the first time in history, a national trans PAC with the faith, resolve, savvy and resources to stand with her.” Here are just a couple of the reasons why Danica Roem is a great addition to our nation's state legislation.

1. She beat out an anti-LGBTQ Republican 11 term incumbent man who once claimed he was the “chief homophobe.”

She won with 54% of the vote, after a quite dirty campaign, on the part of her opponent. At one point during the race, he stated that Roem “clearly is a male,” saying that her behavior “goes against the laws of nature and nature's God.” During the race, he refused to debate against her and continued to refer to her with male pronouns.

2. She sings in a trash metal band called Cab Ride Home.

Their hit song is a song called “Brawl at the Bar” and it's quite the, how do I say, “banger.” She once stated "just because I sing in a heavy metal band while spinning my head in circles and getting paid to do it, why can't I run for government? Why would I have to change who I am in order to run for government? I've already had to go through transformative change.”

3. She is a reputable reporter

Danica has worked for the Gainesville Times and Prince William Times for over 9 years, winning the Virginia Press Association award seven times. SEVEN!

She writes on her website the effects— or lack thereof— of her transition on her career in journalism: “I started transitioning while working at the newspaper in 2012, began hormone replacement therapy Dec. 3, 2013, changed my name, gender and byline in 2015 and no one cared. It was great. I could just keep doing my job.”

4. She is an involved stepmom to a child in the public school system

She has fought hard for the addition of gender identity and sexual orientation to the school's nondiscrimination policy. She also advocates for increasing the salaries of teachers in her county, so they are no longer the lowest in Northern Virginia.

5. Her commercial is candid and to the point

She states that she is running for office, because her identity “shouldn’t be a big deal” and it “shouldn’t be newsworthy or political” and “this is just who I am.” I love how she emphasizes that whether you vote for her or not should not be based on her identity, but instead should be based on her ideas and stances on relevant issues affecting her county. She ends with a beautiful message on how people “should succeed because of who they are, not despite it.”