Danica Roem to Become First Transgender Lawmaker in Virginia

With 95 percent of the precincts counted, Democrat Danica Roem leads Republican Bob Marshall by nearly 2,000 votes in a closely watched election for General Assembly in Virginia.

Roem is a transgender former journalist who focused her race on the terrible traffic in the district, while Marshall is a longtime extreme culture warrior who sponsored the state’s bathroom bill, banning transgender people from using the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity.

The Intercept interviewed Marshall on Tuesday at a polling place in Gainesville in his district.

In a wide-ranging interview, he doubled down on hard-line, right-wing positions on issues, like Medicaid expansion and transgender rights.

During an interview about Roem, he repeatedly misgendered his opponent.

“You can’t change your sex, it’s not even a debatable proposition,” Marshall insisted.

We followed up by asking if he should simply respect Roem’s choice. “I respect persons, if you give me a false proposition, I’m not going to adhere to it,” Marshall replied.

When asked about blocking a Medicaid expansion that could benefit 400,000 people, he was defensive, suggesting that it’s simply too expensive.

“Tell me which school program or transportation program you want to cut? You tell me, then I’ll tell you whether I agree with you or not,” he said, suggesting that expanding Medicaid would mean cutting other things.

When asked why the state can’t just fund both things, given that the federal government is taking the lion’s share of Medicaid funding, he simply responded that it’s the same tax dollars.

We followed up by asking about people who don’t receive care because they can’t afford it.

“Excuse me, you don’t know what you’re talking about. Anybody can get emergency care at any hospital which services Medicaid, that’s a federal law,” Marshall responded.

We followed up once more, pointing out that people are going bankrupt from health care bills and that you can’t treat a long-term chronic condition through emergency room visits.

“You are of an era that the only answers are coupled to federal money,” he said, pointing at us.

But it appears that his era just ended.

Top photo: In this photo provided by her campaign, Danica Roem, a candidate for Virginia’s House of Delegates, poses for a portrait.