President Joe Biden on Tuesday endorsed
the re-election campaign of Virginia State Delegate Danica Roem, the
first openly transgender person elected to any state legislature.
The president endorsed twenty-one
Democratic members of the Virginia House of Delegates and Terry
McAuliffe's gubernatorial bid.
“Building back better starts in the
states,” Biden tweeted. “Since flipping the legislature in 2019,
Virginia Democrats have been a model of progress – including
helping us vaccinate folks to beat the pandemic. To keep our
progress, we must elect Terry McAuliffe and Democrats up and down the
ballot.”
Roem, who represents Manassas, was
first elected in 2018, defeating former Delegate Bob Marshall, a
vocal opponent of LGBT rights.
A Washington Post picture of
Roem crying after she received a congratulatory call from Biden went
viral.
Roem's Republican opponent, Christopher
Stone, is opposed to gay and lesbian couples marrying and adopting
children.
(Related: Republican
opposed to marriage equality challenging transgender Virginia
Delegate Danica Roem.)