The media bent over backward to get the “transgender” label correct as two men posing as women were among those elected November 7 in Minnesota and Virginia.
In Minneapolis the Star Tribune reported that Andrea Jenkins, a biological male who lives as a woman, had been elected to the Minneapolis City Council, becoming “the first transgender woman of color elected to public office in a major U.S. city.”
And in Virginia, reported USA Today, “Democrat Danica Roem, a former journalist, defeated incumbent Republican candidate Del. Bob Marshall Tuesday to become the first openly transgender elected official in Virginia. Roem, 33, is now also set to make history as the first openly transgender person to be elected and seated in a state legislature.” The paper added that while Roem is not the first “transgender” individual elected to state office, “she is the first openly transgender person…. Althea Garrison was elected in Massachusetts in 1992, but did not disclose that she was transgender — she was outed as being transgender after she won her race and then did not win re-election.”
USA Today noted that no less than five “transgender” individuals won elections November 7, including another candidate elected to the Minneapolis City Council. Phillipe Cunningham, formerly a woman, joined Jenkins “as the only out trans black people to be elected to the city council of a major U.S. city after the transgender man’s victory over the city’s longtime council president was announced Wednesday afternoon,” reported the paper.
“There will never be another generation born in this country where Black flamboyant boys, butch girls (with whom I will always share a kinship), and trans-masculine boys won’t have an example that even the honor being elected as representatives of our communities is possible for them,” declared Cunningham after her (his) victory.
Following his (her) victory Jenkins told the Washington Post that “transgender people have been here forever, and black transgender people have been here forever. I’m really proud to have achieved that status, and I look forward to more trans people joining me in elected office, and all other kinds of leadership roles in our society.”
And in his (her) victory remarks, Roem said that “discrimination is a disqualifier. 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.”
Predictably, the homosexual activist community expressed its joy over the results, with Sarah Kate Ellis of the group Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) calling them “a victory for so many remarkable LGBTQ candidates” as well as a “victory for inclusion and acceptance. This is a clear repudiation of President Trump’s hate-fueled politics of bullying and browbeating. Yesterday, Americans took to the polls and chose optimism, hope, and new leadership — and this is only the beginning of our resistance.”
By contrast, conservative and Christian leaders were understandably upset by the losses, particularly the defeat of Bob Marshall, who was considered a solidly pro-family incumbent. “This is what happens when the radical transgender lobby pours more than $600,000 into a small state race and conservative donors largely sit the race out,” said Terry Schilling, executive director of the American Principles Project. “Democrats cruise to victory and claim a mandate on an issue they were too afraid to outwardly campaign on. Delegate Marshall ran an incredible race and did the best he could, but ultimately, with the news media cheering hard for Danica Roem and the transgender lobby purchasing a small state race for the absurd price of $60 per vote, defeat was inevitable.”
Additionally, Peter LaBarbera, executive director of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, expressed his disappointment, saying in a statement: “I’m devastated to learn of the loss in the Virginia delegate race of pro-family hero Bob Marshall to a man who is pretending to be a woman. Bob is one of the most principled and effective state legislators in the nation, and of course there was egregious media bias in covering the race.” He added that “out-of-state liberals sunk in tens of thousands of dollars to help the ‘transgender’ Roem because, well, liberals just can’t seem to celebrate gender confusion enough.”
