Transgender Metal Vocalist Danica Roem Wins Virginia Election

Yesterday, November 7th, Democrat Danica Roem ousted incumbent Bob Marshall by a decisive margin to earn a seat in Virginia's House of Delegates, making her the first openly transgender lawmaker in the state's history. Her win was a symbolic victory for the LGBTQ community, especially in light of her opponent, who'd held the seat for over a quarter-century — Marshall, a hard-line Republican, once referred to himself as Virginia's "chief homophobe," and introduced a "bathroom bill" barring transgendered students from using the bathroom of their choice earlier this year.

The win is also historic for the metal community. Roem fronts Cab Ride Home, a self-described "drunken thrash metal band" that formed in 2006, and she's the first metalhead to ever run for — and win — a seat in the state's legislature, as Noisey points out. The group released its debut album, Crash the Gate, back in April. "We're a five-piece group and all members are committed to ultimately touring full-time," their Bandcamp description reads. "Our sound is drunken thrash metal, our songs are about drinking, and our shows are about raging. We've played 120 shows and even toured the U.K. 'Nuff said."  Stream the LP below, and check out footage from one of their 2016 shows above.

"Discrimination is a disqualifier," Roem said of her historic victory, per The Washington Post. "This is about the people of the 13th District disregarding fear tactics, disregarding phobias ... where we celebrate you because of who you are, not despite it."