Danica Roem's Speech Analysis

For this assignment, I chose to write about Virginia’s newly elected state representative, Danica Roem. On November seventh of this year, Roem defeated a thirteen-term incumbent, Robert G. Marshall, and became one of the nation’s first openly transgender elected officials. (Washington Post, 2017). This is not only a monumental achievement for the LGBT community because Roem is a transgender woman, but it is also an epic win because her opponent is a self-proclaimed homophobe, and was responsible for the “bathroom bill” that died in committee earlier this year. (Washington Post, 2017). In her speech that she made on Tuesday evening, Roem attacked her opponents’ stance on LGBT issues by stating, “discrimination is a disqualifier.” (Washington Post, 2017). She went on to discuss how she plans to celebrate the individual personalities of those whom she would be serving in the thirteenth district, and how she

However, it is crucial to realize that Roem did not achieve this victory alone. An important factor to consider when looking at Roem’s victory over Marshall is the overwhelming number of donations that Roem’s campaign received from her supporters. A Washington Post article stated that “Roem outraised Marshall 3-to-1 with nearly $500,000 in donations, much of it coming from LGBT advocates and other supporters across the country.” (Washington Post, 2017). By financially endorsing Roem, members of the LGBT community have become activists in the sense that they are taking action to bring about social change. According to our course textbook, activism is essential to building support for gender equity initiatives and the women politicians who support them. (Rhode, 54). If it were not for the tremendous amount of support that Roem received from her supporters, this race may have been a close call or could have gone a different way