Wednesday, November 06, 2019

Wow!

For the first time a trans person was reelected to a state legislature!
Danica Roem, first transgender lawmaker, reelected in Virginia
The New York Post
By Ben Feuerherd
November 5, 2019

Danica Roem, the first openly transgender person to be elected and serve in a state legislature, was reelected to her Virginia seat on Tuesday.

Roem, a Democrat, bested her Republican opponent Kelly McGinn by a 57-43 margin.

When she was elected in 2017, Roem beat a longtime GOP delegate who led efforts to restrict bathrooms to transgender people.

Her opponent that year, Robert Marshall, sponsored a “Physical Privacy Act,” which was modeled after controversial bathroom legislation passed in North Carolina in 2016.
She trounced her Republican opponent who ran ads attacking Roem because she’s trans… I guess that the voter want a legislator who tackles the issues and not one who throws dirty.

And speaking of Virginia the Democrats won a trifecta, they now control the governorship and the legislature. The New York Times reports
Democrats won complete control of the Virginia government for the first time in a generation on Tuesday and claimed a narrow victory in the Kentucky governor’s race, as Republicans struggled in suburbs where President Trump is increasingly unpopular.

In capturing both chambers of the legislature in Virginia, Democrats have cleared the way for Gov. Ralph S. Northam, who was nearly driven from office earlier this year, to press for measures tightening access to guns and raising the minimum wage that have been stymied by legislative Republicans.
Then in Kentucky the Democrats had another victory…
In Kentucky, Gov. Matt Bevin, a deeply unpopular Republican, refused to concede the election to his Democratic challenger, Attorney General Andy Beshear. With 100 percent of the precincts counted, Mr. Beshear was ahead by 5,100 votes.

Mr. Beshear presented himself as the winner, telling supporters that he expected Mr. Bevin to “honor the election that was held tonight.”
CNN reports that in Mississippi the Republicans very narrowly held on.
The best news of the night for Republicans came in Mississippi, where they won the race to replace outgoing Gov. Phil Bryant.

The governor's race in such a solidly red state would ordinarily be no cause for suspense.
But Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves faced a serious challenge from Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood, a moderate candidate who had already won statewide four times.

The race was in part a referendum on expanding Medicaid: Reeves, an anti-spending conservative, said he would continue the state's rejection of an expansion under Obamacare, while Hood said he would expand Medicaid to cover an additional 100,000 people.
The final count was 52% to 46%

I think think that the Republicans are waking up a little shocked at the results from around the country today.



Update 3:00PM
Transgender Candidates Won Big in Elections Last Night
There are now 21 out trans elected officials nationwide.
Out
By Matt Baume
November 6, 2019

There’s more good news coming out of Tuesday’s special election. Six openly transgender candidates won their races, including four incumbents. That means that there are now 21 total out trans elected officials nationwide.

Among the most prominent is Virginia Delegate Danica Roem, the first out trans person to win and serve in a state legislature. Roem defeated homophobic Republican Kelly McGinn, who had established a record of opposing same-sex access to adoption, by double digit margins.

Elsewhere in Virginia last night, Donna Price won her race for the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors.

In Massachusetts, Holly Ryan won the race for Newton City Council, and Lizbeth Deselm was elected to the Melrose School Committee. In New Hampshire, Gerri Cannon is now a member of both the Somersworth School Board and the New Hampshire House of Representatives.

And in Iowa, Aime Wichtendal won her re-election to city council, securing her status as the first openly trans elected official in the state.
[…]
There are 21 openly trans officials currently serving in elected office. 

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