Danica Roem, a candidate for the
Virginia House of Delegates, said Monday that her campaign has
received reports that voters have received anti-transgender
robocalls.
“I've heard from three people that
there is an anti-transgender robo push poll going out to homes in the
13th District right now demagoguing transgender kids
that's being used to attack me,” Roem wrote on Facebook.
Roem, a transgender journalist, is
campaigning to unseat Delegate Bob Marshall, a Republican from Prince
William County who has a long history of opposing LGBT rights.
Earlier this year, Marshall, who is serving his 13th term,
introduced a bill that sought to prohibit transgender people from
using the bathroom of their choice.
(Related: Del.
Bob Marshall insists “sodomy is not a civil right” in explaining
vote against gay judge.)
Roem said that the American Principles
Project is behind the robocalls.
In reporting on the race, The
Washington Post credited the American Principles Project for
the robocalls.
“Danica Roem supports policy that
requires schools to allow boys to play on girls' sports teams and
compete on girls' leagues. Does this make you more or less likely to
support Danica?” the telephone poll asks voters.
In a statement, Terry Schilling,
executive director of the American Principles Project, claimed that
Roem was “hiding facts” from voters by campaigning on fixing
Route 28.
“The facts are these: Danica Roem
wants your kindergartner to believe they can change their gender,”
he said. “Roem wants your teenage daughter to be forced to share
her shower and locker room with biological males. Roem wants to shut
down your local Catholic hospital for refusing to perform sex change
operations. These are indisputable facts and Danica Roem is hiding
from them.”
“Everyone in the 13th
District knows that Route 28 is a local issue that can only be fixed
by the road authorities,” Schilling added.
On Monday, Roem said on Twitter that
the use of the robocalls “just strengthens my resolve to soundly
defeat [Marshall] Nov. 7.”