Historic elections for the trans community in the United States

Danica Roem, 33, is a journalist and the first transgender legislator in the country. Andrea Jenkins is the first transgender woman of color elected to the Minneapolis City Council. Three other transgender people won seats on school or city boards in the November 7 elections.

November 8, 2017

The night of November 7, 2017, will be remembered by the trans community in the United States as a milestone in its political history: a total of five trans people won elected positions of varying importance. Two cases garnered the most international attention: one is that of Danica Roem, a young former journalist who managed to unseat a Republican—and homophobic—state legislator in Virginia and become the first trans state legislator; the other is that of Andrea Jenkins, the first Black trans woman elected to public office as a member of the Minneapolis City Council. Three other trans people also won in the first elections of Donald Trump's presidency.

The first transgender legislator in the history of the United States

The campaign was like something out of a movie: a young, transgender woman running for a seat in the Virginia state legislature against a conservative incumbent who had held the position for 26 years and opposed LGBT rights. The ending was a happy one: Democratic candidate Danica Roem defeated Republican Robert Marshall with 55% of the vote, becoming the first openly transgender state legislator in the history of Virginia and the entire country.

Danica is 33 years old, a journalist and lead singer in a heavy metal band, and she ran her entire campaign without focusing on her gender identity. Instead, she concentrated on local issues and problems in Virginia. Her opponent, on the other hand, dedicated himself to trying to discredit her because she is transgender and even refused to address her as a woman. But she remained focused. In a recent interview, shortly before the election, the now-legislator told AFP: "Only a handful of people told my volunteer campaign workers that they wouldn't vote for me because I'm trans." This was demonstrated by the widespread support her candidacy garnered beyond Virginia's borders: she received praise and financial donations from across the country to sustain her campaign. One of her statements even went viral, and analysts say it's what resonated with voters and led to her victory: “It doesn't matter what you look like, where you come from, what you worship, or who you love. If you have good public policy ideas, if you are qualified for the position, you have every right to bring your ideas to the institutions.” Aisha C. Moodie-Mills, who runs the Victory Fund, an organization that finances LGBT candidacies, celebrated it as a historic event and remarked that it is inevitable that others will follow in her footsteps: "2017 will remain in memory as the year of the trans candidates, with Danica's heroic campaign at the center of a national movement," she noted.

Andrea Jenkins, Black and trans

Andrea Jenkins was the Democratic candidate for the 8th District on the Minneapolis City Council and won the election with an impressive 73% of the vote. Jenkins, who had previously worked as a political consultant, has dedicated more than 25 years to public service, but this was her first time winning an election. During the campaign, Jenkins stated that her priority was to lead change that would ensure equality for all people and emphasized the importance of "being in the room." In an interview, she explained, "When Black trans women are in the room, the dialogue changes. When people try to implement measures that are detrimental to these communities, I can be the voice that prevents it, that stops it, that resists."

Three other winning candidates

Also in Minneapolis, a transgender candidate, Phillipe Cunningham, was elected president of the city council. In Pennsylvania, another transgender man, 33-year-old Tyler Titus, was elected to the Erie School Board, and in California, Lisa Middleton became the first transgender person elected to public office, taking a seat on the Palm Springs City Council.

Tyler Titus, a trans man, during the campaign with his young son.

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