A fresh wave of Republican anti-transgender messaging is driving Democratic operatives to coach candidates on how to avoid falling into the political traps of prior elections.
Their advice: don’t ignore the conversation, state your position clearly and move on to issues voters care about.
“Silence is deadly on these issues and that’s the playbook we tried in 2024,” said Lanae Erickson, senior vice president at center-left think tank Third Way.
“Democrats have to be super clear that we want fair rules in sports made by sports associations and parents to be in charge of their kids’ health care,” Erickson said.
“Nip the issue in the bud and then turn things back to the main issue of costs and things that impact voters’ lives more,” she said.
Republicans offered a preview this week of familiar election messaging they hope will animate their base in November: Democrats support transgender athletes in women’s sports and gender-affirming care for children.
Those messages in 2024 appeared to galvanize voters, with Republicans spending over $110 million in ads on the issues, and then-candidate Donald Trump spending more on ads criticizing supporting transgender rights than on any other subject in the final lead-up to the election.
The majority of speeches by top Republicans at the GOP’s midterm convention in Dallas highlighted the issue, including by Vice President JD Vance, Speaker Mike Johnson, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Tim Scott, National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Richard Hudson, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Housing Secretary Scott Turner and Trump.
“It’s one of our great soundbites of all time,” Trump said Wednesday as he described anti-trans attacks as best deployed against Democrats in the final days of the election. “I’m doing it much too early.”
America PAC, Elon Musk’s super PAC, also invested in a round of new digital ads this week airing across states with key Senate races, including Texas and Iowa, criticizing Democrats’ past support for trans rights.
Ross Hemminger, president of Log Cabin Republicans, a prominent Republican lesbian, gay and bisexual group, who attended the convention, called the GOP approach “a winning message” that will motivate “people who don’t always come out to vote in every election.”
Matt Angle, a veteran Democratic strategist based in Texas, said he’d encourage candidates to model their response to anti-trans attacks on James Talarico, the state’s Democratic nominee for the Senate. Many Republican speeches this week focused on Talarico’s past comments on gender.
“James should continue to respond the way he has, very disciplined,” Angle said. He pointed to a Wednesday FOX News interview where Talarico said he “will oppose trans athletes playing in girls’ sports if it risks safety or fairness.”
“Republicans are trying their best to change the subject and divert attention away from a profound failure, but it’s not shaking James’ focus on gas prices and what it costs to make a living,” Angle said.
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