All nine LGBTQ+ candidates backed by the Victory Fund won state legislature seats in Virginia according the organization.
One victorious candidate, Danica Roem, will become the first transgender state senator in the South. Other notable wins include Joshua Cole of District 65, a spot which flips the House of Delegates back to pro-equality majority. In the Senate, Adam Ebbin was reelected.
Candidates Laura Jane Cohen, Adele McClure and Rozia Henson all won seats in the House of Delegates alongside incumbents Marcia Price, Mark Sickles, Kelly Convirs-Fowler.
These victories in Virginia are essential in checking the power of Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, an openly anti-LGBTQ+ politician who finalized policies in August to allow teachers at K-12 schools to misgender their transgender students by using the name and pronouns associated with their sex assigned at birth, rather than their gender identity.
Victory Fund President and CEO Annise Parker released the following statement regarding the election successes: “Today, voters across Virginia resoundingly rejected the politics of bigotry and fear directed at the LGBTQ+ community. In Virginia and around the country, tonight’s results show that hate is losing issue at the ballot box. We’re proud that our LGBTQ+ Victory Fund candidates were key to delivering a pro-equality majority in the General Assembly that will stand up to Glenn Youngkin’s bigoted policies. With so much on the line, Virginia was a top priority for LGBTQ+ Victory Fund this cycle. We’re joining with LGBTQ+ Virginians in all corners of the Commonwealth who are celebrating a new chapter in Virginia politics, one that includes all Virginians.”
