It seems that progressives finally have some good news to talk about it when it comes to politics. After months upon months of taking a straight uninterrupted chug from a bucket of garbage-flavored Ls, the Democrats have had major local victories in the state of Virginia, as is customary for the losing party during a midterm season. One woman who won a state legislature seat in Virginia, however, has made history. Danica Roem won a landslide victory against Bob Marshall, who has occupied his seat since 1992. Marshall is infamous for writing the Virginia transgender bathroom bill last year, attempting to legislate identity and restrict the rights of trans women like Danica Roem. So Roem took his seat, and proved that a trans woman could defeat a wildly transphobic long-time Republican incumbent. Quite the accomplishment - a victory for trans people against the identity politics obsessed dinosaurs on the right who misgendered Roem and demeaned her. On right-wing talk show radio, Marshall said that Roem “clearly is a male". Now, Marshall is clearly unemployed. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/cmclymer/status/928065921763237888]] Danica Roem is a 32 year old journalist, a Democrat and a savvy politician who brilliantly used the right's focus on identity to her advantage. Instead of marketing herself solely as a trans woman, she focused on the issues, and instead characterized Marshall as the one who was obsessed with identity, and criticized his social conservatism. It worked. Roem will be the first transgender person to be elected to the House of Delegates in Virginia, as well as the first openly transgender state legislator in all of America. She transitioned at age 28. She said: “No matter what you look like, where you come from, how you worship or who you love, if you have good public policy ideas, if you’re qualified for office, you have every right to bring your ideas to the table." [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/SarahEMcBride/status/928065587766530048]] Roem is also a heavy metal singer, carrying a wide range of interests into the state legislature. Her key issues include increasing the pay of teachers, making better traffic laws, spending public money for the local public benefit on roads and infrastructure, and championing equity as a principle of governance and citizenship. Aisha C. Moodie-Mills, the CEO of the Victory Fund, a pro-LGBTQ fundraising organization, said: “2017 will be remembered as the year of the trans candidate – and Danica’s heroic run for office the centerpiece of that national movement." [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/GeorgeTakei/status/928110386888499200]] It will take a while to see the results of this recent electoral wave in the state of Virginia. The state's Republican Trump-endorsed candidate for governor also lost his election to Democrat Ralph Northam, signaling a poor showing for Trump. However, Northam is a standard establishment Democrat with some very conservative views on the legal system. Whether or not progressive policy will come to pass in Virginia remains to be seen. We should be cautiously optimistic, always cautious, but it is heartening to see that a transgender woman can win public office in Trump's America against the very man who sought to legislate inequality into the state law.

Sarah McBride has made history as the first transgender person elected to the US House of Representatives.The Democrat was victorious on Tuesday (November 5) after winning the seat against the Republican Party's John Whalen in Delaware's election for the House of Representatives.Sarah McBride has become the first transgender person to be elected to the US House of Representatives. Credit: Slaven Vlasic / GettyAccording to The Guardian, McBride defeated three other Democratic candidates in September’s primary race to secure her nomination and eventual win.The politician took to her X (formerly Twitter) platform to express gratitude to everyone who voted for her.“Thank you, Delaware! Because of your votes and your values, I am proud to be your next member of Congress,” McBride penned.“Delaware has sent the message loud and clear that we must be a country that protects reproductive freedom, that guarantees paid leave and affordable child care for all our families, that ensures that housing and healthcare are available to everyone, and that this is a democracy that is big enough for all of us," she added.McBride has become the first openly transgender person to not only serve as a state senator when elected to represent Delaware’s 1st Senate District in 2020 but to also be elected to the US House of Representatives.“Tonight is a testament to Delawareans that here in our state of neighbors, we judge candidates based on their ideas and not their identities,” McBride said at Delaware’s Democratic election night celebration, per NBC News.She thanked her loved ones and her late husband, Andy Cray, who sadly passed away of cancer in 2014, just days after their wedding.“My time with Andy reinforced for me a simple truth, that hope as an emotion, hope as a phenomenon, only makes sense in the face of hardship,” she said. “While at this moment in America’s history, hope sometimes feels hard to come by, we must never forget that we are the beneficiaries of seemingly impossible change.” Sarah McBride came out as a trans woman in 2011. Credit: Mike Coppola / GettyIn 2011, McBride came out as a trans woman in her university’s student paper and a viral Facebook post.Before being elected to the State Senate, she worked for former Governor Jack Markell, Joe Biden, served in the Obama-Biden White House, and was the national spokesperson for the country's biggest LGBTQ equal rights organization the Human Rights Campaign.Ahead of the election, McBride told Reuters: "Whenever you are first, you often have to try to be the best version that you can...But none of them matter if I don't fulfill the responsibility of just being the best member of Congress that I can be for Delaware."She also addressed the transgender community, saying: "Anyone who worries that the heart of this country is not big enough to love them should know that they belong [...] Our democracy is big enough for all of us."Congratulations!Featured image credit: Slaven Vlasic / Getty

Democrat Sarah McBride will become the first openly transgender state senator in US history when she is sworn in, following her victory in Delaware, the Associated Press has reported.

As reported by Pink News, McBride - an LGBTQ+ and human rights activist who serves as the National Press Secretary of Human Rights Campaign - has defeated Republican Steve Washington by a considerable margin, per the preliminary results.

Taking to Instagram following her victory, McBride wrote to her 19,000 followers: "We did it. We won the general election. Thank you thank you, thank you."

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And writing on Twitter, McBride added: "I hope tonight shows an LGBTQ kid that our democracy is big enough for them, too."

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Prior to her historic win, the Metro reports that McBride told voters: "I’m not running to make history or headlines.

"I’m running to make a difference in this community and to represent this community as best I can by bringing the full range of experiences and perspectives I have with such a long history in this community."

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She added:

"I am mindful of the responsibility that I hold."

"I’m mindful of just how powerful it would’ve been for me as a kid to see the story pop up online of a transgender person being elected to a state senate and the message that it would’ve sent to somebody like me growing up worried that there wasn’t space for someone like me in this world.

"That’s a powerful message and that’s a powerful opportunity to provide a little bit of hope, and a little bit of comfort, to a young person here in Delaware or somewhere else in this country, that our democracy is big enough for them too."

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Per Pink News, Annise Parker of the LGBTQ Victory Fund said of McBride's victory: "Sarah’s overwhelming victory is a powerful testament to the growing influence of transgender leaders in our politics and gives hope to countless trans people looking toward a brighter future.

"Throughout this election cycle, Donald Trump and other cynical politicians attempted to use trans people as a political weapon, believing they could gain popularity by stoking fear and hate.

"For Sarah to shatter a lavender ceiling in such a polarizing year is a powerful reminder that voters are increasingly rejecting the politics of bigotry in favor of candidates who stand for fairness and equality. Her victory will inspire more trans people to follow in her footsteps and run for public office."

Rosemary Ketchum has won a seat on a City Council in West Virginia, making her the first openly transgender elected official in the state.

The 26-year-old is one of 27 openly transgender elected officials currently serving in the United States. Ketchum was elected to the Wheeling City Council, after running on a platform addressing affordable housing and opioid addiction. She has lived in Wheeling for the past 10 years.

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In a statement to CNN, Ketchum said: "I hope that this election helps us push the needle in West Virginia so that we can fully embrace the power of culture, diversity, and representation in politics. I ran for office because I believe the job of an elected official is to reflect the values of their community in the actions of their leadership and that is why I am excited to serve."

Ketchum has served on the board of ACLU West Virginia and is a member of Wheeling's Human Rights Commission. She is also the associate director of NAMI of Greater Wheeling - and an affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, per the publication.

The LGBTQ Victory Fund congratulated Ketchum on her win, tweeting "HISTORY MADE: [Rosemary Ketchum] just won a seat on the Wheeling City Council and is now the first out trans person ever elected in West Virginia! She will be one of just 27 out trans elected officials in the entire nation."

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Taking to Twitter herself to announce the news, Ketchum wrote, "I am thrilled! Thanks to everyone who has been so incredibly kind. Running for office isn't easy but your support makes it well worth it. <3 [sic]." [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/RosemaryKetchum/status/1270831226216202240?s=20]] Speaking to The Intelligencer in June of 2019, Ketchum said: "I feel excited to represent inclusivity. But I'm not making my campaign about my gender identity or anything like that. We have too many systemic problems we have to address."

For the Democratic party, Tuesday night was a night of many firsts. In Minnesota, Ilhan Omar, a Somalian refugee who immigrated to the United States as a teenager, won her primary, making her likely to be the first Muslim woman elected to Congress. In Connecticut, Jahana Hayes, who won national teacher of the year in 2016, won her primary, meaning she could be her state's first black Democrat in Congress. And in Vermont, Christine Hallquist, a former energy executive, won her primary, making her the first openly transgender candidate for governor in US history.

Hallquist, 62, defeated three other Democrats running for the candidacy, including a 14-year-old boy. (In Vermont, there is no age requirement for the position.) She ran on a progressive, populist platform, supporting  a $15 minimum wage, free higher education and Medicare for All (aka universal health care). However, Hallquist doesn't embrace the "socialist" label, which is still used a pejorative in some Republican circles. Rather, she says she's fighting for a civilized society.

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"I'm not a person that's big on labels because I found labels are used to separate people," Hallquist told CNN's John Berman. "I look at the platform of a living wage and health care for all, that is called civilized society. I don't know even how that became socialism or Republican or Democrat. Let's be a civilized society. ... I'm not sure I even know what socialism is."

After pursuing a career in engineering, Hallquist moved to Vermont in 1976. She joined Vermont Electric Cooperative in 1998, and become CEO of the company seven years later. Early on in her marriage, she came out as a woman, but didn't publicly identify as one until 2015. Previously, she told reporters she was inspired to run for office as a result of Donald Trump winning the 2016 presidential election.

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During his campaign, President Trump promised to fight for LGBT rights. However, since taking office, he has attempted to ban transgender soldiers from the military, failed to acknowledge Pride Month for two years in a row, rolled back regulations to protect LGBT workers, and created a "religious liberty devision" to defend healthcare workers with religious objections from treating LGBT patients.

Last June, Hallquist told CNN that the public's positive response to her transition gave her the confidence to get into politics: "I was sure I was going to lose my job. I was sure I was going to lose respect. But that didn’t happen. So this describes the beauty of Vermont. Now I’m at this point where I can’t do enough to give back to Vermont."

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According to the Victory Institute, during this election cycle, a record 400 LGBT candidates are running for state or federal office. Many of them were inspired by Virginia Democratic delegate Danica Roem, an openly transgender woman elected in 2017. Currently, 13 openly transgender people are serving in elected office. Mayor Annise Parke, the president and CEO of the LGBT Victory Fund, issued a statement of support for Hallquist:

"Many thought it unthinkable a viable trans gubernatorial candidate like Christine would emerge so soon. Yet Vermont voters chose Christine not because of her gender identity, but because she is an open and authentic candidate with a long history of service to the state, and who speaks to the issues most important to voters."

On Twitter, Senator Bernie Sanders, progressive Congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and political trailblazer Danica Roem congratulated Hallquist on her win. As she celebrated her historic victory in Burlington, she said, "I'm proud to be the face of the Democrats tonight." In November, she will face off against the incumbent governor, Republican Phil Scott.