Danica Roem Becomes First Openly Trans Person in Va. State Senate

Virginia lawmaker and metal singer Danica Roem has made history yet again.

After becoming the first openly transgender person elected to the Virginia House of Delegates back in 2017, Roem on Tuesday became the first openly trans person elected to the Virginia State Senate.

Roem ran against Republican Bill Woolf to represent Virginia’s 30th District in the upper chamber.

“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,” Roem said in a statement.

READ MORE: Danica Roem Wins Re-Election to the Virginia House of Delegates

“The voters have shown they want a leader who will prioritize fixing roads, feeding kids, and protecting our land instead of stigmatizing trans kids or taking away your civil rights,” she added on Tuesday.

Roem didn’t make her sexual identity a central part her campaign, as CBS News said. Instead, she campaigned on giving Virginia teachers a raise, making healthcare more accessible and preventing the ongoing threat of gun violence.

Danica Roem’s Metal Band

Roem previously performed as a vocalist for a Virginia-based metal band called Cab Ride Home. In a 2017 interview with Loudwire, she described her continuing lifelong metal fandom.

“The funny thing about me being in office, is I will always still be that metal nerd writing ‘SLAYER’ in the corner of a notebook,” Roem explained. “Here I am, a 33-year-old stepmom, newly elected and I’m still writing the Metallica ninja star. That totally doesn’t change when you get elected into office.”

She recalled, “When I was in high school, my favorite show to watch was on Saturday nights on the public access channel, and it was fed in from Canada, Much Loud. That’s where I got a lot of exposure to stuff you don’t see in the mainstream — Napalm Death, Nothingface. And I mean early Nothingface. They’d play black metal stuff like Emperor. I love Swedish metal, Finnish metal.”

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Danica Roem in Cab Ride Home