Virginia
Danica Roem elected to the Va. Senate
Democrats now control both General Assembly chambers
MANASSAS, Va. — Virginia state Del. Danica Roem (D-Manassas) on Tuesday won her race the state Senate.
The Manassas Democrat defeated Republican Bill Woolf by a 51.5-48.2 margin.
“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,” said Roem in a statement after she declared victory. “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.”
Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson is among those who canvassed with Roem and other Democratic candidates on Monday in Manassas.
HRC in a tweet noted Roem will be the second transgender person elected to a state senate in the U.S. (Roem in 2018 became the first trans person seated in a state legislature in the country. Delaware state Sen. Sarah McBride took office in 2021.)
“Congrats to pro-equality and HRC-endorsed Senator-elect Danica Roem,” said HRC. “Senator-elect Roem is only the second openly transgender person elected to a state senate in the country. This is an historic step toward building power for the transgender community and LGBTQ+ folks everywhere.”
The LGBTQ+ Victory Fund and Equality Virginia’s PAC also congratulated Roem.
“Danica faced an unprecedented deluge of anti-trans hate on the campaign trail, but she was not fazed nor distracted,” said Victory Fund President Annise Parker in a statement. “She made LGBTQ+ history tonight because she put constituents first, speaking to the real issues that impact children and their families in Virginia, from fixing roads to ensuring kids and families have food on the table.”
Roem spoke to supporters at the Virginia Portuguese Community Center in Manassas after she declared victory.
Democrats regain full control of General Assembly
Democrats on Tuesday regained control of the Virginia House of Delegates, which they lost in 2021 when Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin won the governorship. Democrats maintained control of the state Senate.
Abortion and trans rights — including new guidelines for trans and nonbinary students — are among the issues that loomed over Tuesday’s election.
“Today, Virginians made their voices heard at the polls and sent a clear message to Gov. Glenn Youngkin and MAGA Republicans that we will not follow other Southern states who turned back the clock on progress,” said former House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn in a statement. “Virginians have voted to reject extreme abortion bans and have once again chosen a vision of a Virginia that is more open, welcoming, and prosperous.”
Robinson also highlighted these issues when she spoke with the Washington Blade on Monday.
“We’ve seen more bills attacking trans youth in the state of Virginia than at any other point in the commonwealth’s history,” she said. “People are clear about what’s at stake right now and really wanting to get politicians in office who are going to put the state back on track.”
Other LGBTQ incumbents, candidates win races
Roem is among the many LGBTQ candidates who won their respective races on Tuesday.
State Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) defeated Republican Sophia Moshasha in Senate District 39 by a 78.1-21.6 percent margin. State Del. Mark Sickles (D-Fairfax County) won re-election in House District 17.
Ebbin and Sickles are both gay.
“Virginians don’t want the government banning books, and interfering with their personal freedoms — whether it’s their reproductive rights, the right to breathe clean air, the safety of our communities from gun violence or the sanctity of our democracy,” said Ebbin in a statement.
“Despite breaking spending records, Gov. Youngkin was just served the biggest political rejection by voters of any Virginia governor in over three decades,” he further stressed. “Virginians sent Youngkin a message loud and clear tonight. In spite of his unprecedented campaign spending — and attempts to deny the right to vote to thousands in the run up to this election — his campaign to divide Virginia failed.”
State Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler (D-Virginia Beach), who is bisexual, defeated Republican Mike Karslake in House District 96 by a 54.9-41.5 percent margin. Pansexual state Del. Marcia “Cia” Price (D-Newport News) won re-election in House District 85.
Former state Del. Joshua Cole, who is bisexual, defeated Republican Lee Peters in House District 65 by a 52.6-47.1 percent margin.
Democrat Rozia Henson won in House District 19. Democratic Fairfax County School Board member Laura Jane Cohen defeated Republican Marcus Evans in House District 15 by a 61.2-38.6 percent margin, while Democrat Adele McClure won in House District 2.
Henson, Cohen and McClure are gay, bisexual and queer respectively.
State Del. Barry Knight (R-Virginia Beach) defeated Zach Coltrain, a gay Gen Zer, in House District 98.
Frisch re-elected to Fairfax County School Board
Fairfax County School Board Vice Chair Karl Frisch won re-election. Robyn Lady, who is a lesbian, and Kyle McDaniel, who is a bisexual, won their respective campaigns for the school board.
“Tonight’s results show people are fed up with the political attacks targeting our world-class public schools and teachers, and putting our students in danger,” said Frisch. “Fairfax County residents have made it clear: They want safe and inclusive schools for every student, including those who identify as LGBTQ+.”
Michael Pruitt on Tuesday became the first bisexual man elected to the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors. Allison Spillman, whose child is trans, won a seat on the Albemarle County School Board.
Big Stone Gap Town Councilman Tyler Hughes, who is gay, won re-election. Blacksburg Town Councilman Michael Sutphin, who is also gay, won his race.
Christopher Kane contributed to this story.
Virginia
McPike wins special election for Va. House of Delegates
Gay Alexandria City Council member becomes 8th LGBTQ member of legislature
Gay Alexandria City Council member Kirk McPike emerged as the decisive winner in a Feb. 10 special election for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates representing Alexandria.
McPike, a Democrat, received 81.5 percent of the vote in his race against Republican Mason Butler, according to the local publication ALX Now.
He first won election to the Alexandria Council in 2021. He will be filling the House of Delegates seat being vacated by Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-Alexandria), who won in another Feb. 10 special election for the Virginia State Senate seat being vacated by gay Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria).
Ebbin is resigning from his Senate next week to take a position with Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s administration.
Upon taking his 5th District seat in the House of Delegate, McPike will become the eighth out LGBTQ member of the Virginia General Assembly. Among those he will be joining is Sen. Danica Roem (D-Manassas), who became the Virginia Legislature’s first transgender member when she won election to the House of Delegates in 2017 before being elected to the Senate in 2023.
“I look forward to continuing to work to address our housing crisis, the challenge of climate change, and the damaging impacts of the Trump administration on the immigrant families, LGBTQ+ Virginians, and federal employees who call Alexandria home,” McPike said in a statement after winning the Democratic nomination for the seat in a special primary held on Jan. 20.
McPike, a longtime LGBTQ rights advocate, has served for the past 13 years as chief of staff for gay U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) and has remained in that position during his tenure on the Alexandria Council. He said he will resign from that position before taking office in the House of Delegates.
Virginia
Spanberger signs bill that paves way for marriage amendment repeal referendum
Proposal passed in two successive General Assembly sessions
Virginians this year will vote on whether to repeal a state constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger on Friday signed state Del. Laura Jane Cohen (D-Fairfax County)’s House Bill 612, which finalized the referendum’s language.
The ballot question that voters will consider on Election Day is below:
Question: Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to: (i) remove the ban on same-sex marriage; (ii) affirm that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender, or race; and (iii) require all legally valid marriages to be treated equally under the law?
Voters in 2006 approved the Marshall-Newman Amendment.
Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in Virginia since 2014. Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who is a Republican, in 2024 signed a bill that codified marriage equality in state law.
Two successive legislatures must approve a proposed constitutional amendment before it can go to the ballot.
A resolution to repeal the Marshall-Newman Amendment passed in the General Assembly in 2025. Lawmakers once again approved it last month.
“20 years after Virginia added a ban on same-sex marriage to our Constitution, we finally have the chance to right that wrong,” wrote Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman on Friday in a message to her group’s supporters.
Virginians this year will also consider proposed constitutional amendments that would guarantee reproductive rights and restore voting rights to convicted felons who have completed their sentences.
Lieutenant Gov. Ghazala Hashmi on Monday opened Equality Virginia’s annual Lobby Day in Richmond.
The Lobby Day was held at Virginia’s Capitol and was open to the public by RSVP. The annual event is one of the ways that Equality Virginia urges its supporters to get involved. It also offers informational sessions and calls to action through social media.
Hashmi, a former state senator, has been open about her support for the LGBTQ community and other marginalized groups. Her current advisor is Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman, and the group endorsed her for lieutenant governor.
Hashmi historically opposes anti-transgender legislation.
She opposed a 2022 bill that sought to take away opportunities from trans athletes.
One of the focuses of this year’s Lobby Day was protecting LGBTQ students. Another was protecting trans youth’s access to gender-affirming care.
Advocates spent their day in meetings and dialogues with state legislators and lawmakers about legislative priorities and concerns.
Unconventional love: Or, fuck it, let’s choose each other again
Pride flag raised at Stonewall after National Park Service took it down
Trans students not included in new India University Grants Commission equity rules
Calendar: February 13-19
FOIA lawsuit filed against State Department for PEPFAR records
Pride flag removed from Stonewall Monument as Trump targets LGBTQ landmarks
I keep getting rejected on the apps
Gay man details secret struggle with bulimia
Olympics Pride House ‘really important for the community’
