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Democrats rethink their message on transgender athletes as US campaigns intensify
Some Democratic leaders are stepping back from parts of the party’s traditional alignment with transgender-rights advocates, especially on school sports. The shift comes as Republicans turn the issue into a major campaign line ahead of the midterms and the 2028 presidential race.
Some Democrats are revisiting how they talk about transgender issues, particularly the participation of transgender girls and women in female sports. Associated Press reported that the shift is emerging across campaigns in different states as Republicans continue to use the issue as a potent political attack.
One of the clearest examples is California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat often mentioned as a possible presidential contender. Speaking to AP while campaigning in South Carolina, he said he sees it as deeply unfair for people assigned male at birth to compete against girls and acknowledged that he has not found a way to make it fair.
According to AP, Newsom is not alone. While most Democratic officials still strongly support the transgender community, a growing number of party figures in both red and blue states are putting distance between themselves and some policy priorities backed by transgender-rights advocates, including allowing athletes to play on teams that align with their gender identity.
On the Republican side, Donald Trump and his allies again made the issue central at their recent midterm convention in Dallas. AP reported that Trump openly said he hoped Democrats would keep defending that position because he believes it helps Republicans politically.
The campaign attacks are already playing out in several races. AP said a political action committee backed by Elon Musk, America PAC, has begun running digital ads against Democrats in key Senate contests in Texas, Ohio and Alaska, accusing them of allowing men to compete in women’s sports. In Texas, Republicans also released a new ad aimed at Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico.
Talarico, AP reported, had already started moving away from some of his earlier statements and said in a Fox News interview last week that he would support a national ban on gender-affirming surgeries for transgender minors. He also acknowledged that some of his past remarks had missed the mark.
The issue is shaping Democratic campaigns elsewhere as well. In Iowa, gubernatorial nominee Rob Sand has spoken against transgender athletes competing in women’s sports on fairness grounds. In Ohio, Amy Acton has taken a similar stance, though she has drawn criticism from the left. In Massachusetts, by contrast, the Democratic Senate primary showed the risk of breaking with explicit support for transgender rights: Sen. Ed Markey won renomination and later said his victory came in part from not backing away from the issue, while challenger Seth Moulton was damaged by his comments about transgender athletes, according to AP.
Associated Press also pointed to polling that underscores the political difficulty for Democrats. A Quinnipiac University poll in June found that about seven in ten registered voters say transgender women and girls should not be allowed on women’s and girls’ sports teams. Democrats themselves are split roughly down the middle. A Pew Research Center poll from last year found that more than half of Democrats would be not too comfortable or not at all comfortable with athletes playing on teams that do not match their sex at birth.
The divide extends to activists. Tyler Hack, executive director of the Christopher Street Project, told AP that Democratic politicians are increasingly running away from the issue. At the same time, activist and independent journalist Erin Reed published a guide identifying Democratic candidates she says have taken anti-transgender positions and argued that she would not support what she considers the worst cases, even if that helped elect a Republican.
AP noted that the political fight is unfolding alongside major legal changes around the country. At least 25 states are enforcing laws or policies that bar transgender women and girls from competing in at least some female sports, while three others have enacted similar laws that remain blocked in court. Earlier this year, the US Supreme Court upheld state laws excluding transgender girls from school teams.
The agency also noted that transgender athletes represent a very small share of participants. NCAA president Charlie Baker testified in 2024 that he knew of fewer than 10 transgender college athletes out of more than 500,000 total athletes.
Looking toward 2028, the debate is becoming an early test inside the Democratic Party. While Newsom has voiced concerns about sports participation even as he highlights his record on LGBTQ+ issues, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has taken the opposite position and criticized state bans. In Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro has opposed school sports bans while also raising questions about fairness. And former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said earlier this year on Fox that he takes concerns on both sides seriously, though he questioned whether the issue ranks among the top priorities for voters in this year’s elections.
Sources
About this piece. Written by El Notero with AI assistance, from reporting published by the outlet cited above. El Notero did no original reporting on this story.
