Democratic candidates in some of the nation's most competitive Senate and House races are recalibrating their positions on transgender issues, a shift that Republicans are seizing on to accuse them of political flip-flopping. The moves come as the GOP prepares to deploy the highly charged subject as a campaign weapon for a second consecutive election cycle.
In South Carolina, Democratic Senate nominee Dr. Annie Andrews has publicly broken with her past opposition to a state law restricting transgender athletes in girls' sports. «I don't support biological men playing in women's sports, and I don't support gender surgery on minors,» Andrews said in a new campaign commercial, adding, «I want you to hear me loud and clear.» Her Republican opponent, Sen. Darline Graham, who was appointed to the seat following the sudden death of her brother, longtime Sen. Lindsey Graham, accused Andrews of trying to conceal her record. Graham said Andrews «has spent years supporting biological males competing in girls' sports» and is now «trying to hide from that radical record.»
Andrews previously opposed a 2022 South Carolina law barring transgender athletes from competing on girls' and women's public school sports teams. At the time, she wrote on social media that the legislation «does nothing to protect or support women or children in SC» and was «actively harmful,» adding, «I will always support trans youth.»
The shift is not isolated to South Carolina. In Texas, Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico, who is trying to flip a GOP-held seat in a red-leaning state, has been targeted over his past support for allowing transgender athletes in girls' sports. He recently told Fox News, «I oppose trans athletes playing in girls' sports if it endangers safety or fairness.» In Iowa, Democratic Senate nominee Josh Turek has also expressed opposition to biological males competing in women's sports and to gender transition surgeries for minors.
The recalibration follows a bruising 2024 election cycle in which Republicans spent more than $200 million on ads targeting Democrats over transgender issues. President Donald Trump's campaign ran spots declaring «Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you,» a message that Republicans credit with helping drive sweeping victories. Trump has continued to promote the issue, telling a GOP convention last month that anti-trans messaging is «one of our great sound bites of all time» and describing it as one of the party's most effective tools to drive turnout.
National polling suggests the Republican position has broad support. A Fox News national poll conducted last month found that 76% of respondents backed banning biological men from competing in women's sports, with one in five opposed. The survey showed bipartisan backing: 90% of Republicans, 77% of independents, and 61% of Democrats supported the ban.
Some prominent Democrats have already shifted. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, suggested in early 2025 that biological males playing in women's sports was «deeply unfair.» Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts said soon after the 2024 elections that he opposed transgender athletes competing in girls' sports and that Democrats spent too much time trying not to offend people. «I have two little girls, I don't want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat I'm supposed to be afraid to say that,» Moulton told The New York Times.
Veteran Democratic strategist Maria Cardona defended the shift, saying, «Democrats are being smart on this issue in terms of defining where they are on it so their opponents can't define them and then pivoting back to the issues that they know that voters actually care about.»
While most Democratic politicians remain steadfast supporters of transgender rights, the growing number of candidates adjusting their stances reflects a party wrestling with how to handle an issue that Republicans have successfully used to animate their base. With control of Congress at stake and Trump looking to replay the GOP's transgender playbook, the debate is likely to intensify in the final stretch before Election Day.