Democrats trying to win in conservative areas of the Southeast are assuring voters that they don’t support liberal transgender policies.
Rep. Donald Davis, a North Carolina Democrat running in a district redrawn to favor Republicans, tells voters in a new ad that he understands concerns about male-born athletes in girls’ sports.
“There’s real concerns about fairness and safety,” he says, standing on a football field. “That’s why I believe states should decide what’s right for protecting women and girls, and North Carolina has decided.”
People were interested in these podcasts
The ad references North Carolina law requiring student athletes to play on teams corresponding to their sex.
Mr. Davis follows the lead of several other candidates in battlegrounds, assuring voters that they’re moderates on the topic.
In 2024, Republicans ran ads highlighting Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ support of taxpayer-funded gender transitions for inmates with the stinging “Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you” slogan.
Now, the Congressional Leadership Fund, a PAC aligned with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, has a new ad that challenges Mr. Davis’ claims.
“Upon further review, Don Davis is lying,” says a football referee reviewing Mr. Davis’ ad.
The narrator continues, “In Washington, Davis puts his name on a bill that would override North Carolina’s law, put boys in girls’ sports, boys in girls’ locker rooms.”
The ad references his sponsorship of the Equality Act, a bill that would prohibit discrimination based on gender identity.
It also accuses him of having “punted twice” on transgender athletes, pointing to how he opted out of a yes-or-no vote on the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act.
“His new ad? That’s a classic misdirection play,” says the narrator. “Don Davis — playing for their team, not ours.”
Laurie Buckhout, a retired Army colonel, is the Republican candidate taking on Mr. Davis, who was an Air Force captain.
Nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults say they’re uncomfortable with transgender athletes competing on sports teams that don’t match their sex at birth, according to a Pew Research Center survey published in August.
In neighboring South Carolina, Democratic Senate nominee Annie Andrews has similarly unveiled an ad embracing a conservative position on women’s sports and transgender procedures.
“You deserve to hear the truth,” Ms. Andrews, a pediatrician, says directly to the camera, wearing scrubs and a white coat. “I don’t support biological men playing women’s sports, and I don’t support — and haven’t ever performed — gender surgery for minors.”
The ad is a sign she considers the issue an obstacle to making gains in a state that favored President Trump by almost 18 points in 2024.
Mr. Trump recently referred to Ms. Andrews as “Annie ’Trannie’ Andrews” in a social media post, accusing her of supporting “Transgender for Everyone.”
Ms. Andrews’ opponent, GOP Sen. Darline Graham, and her allies have also leaned into the subject.
Despite some Democrats’ pivots in competitive races, others continue to support an aggressive transgender policy agenda.
California state Sen. Scott Wiener, who is vying to fill retiring Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s seat, has less to worry about when it comes to appealing to social conservatives.
The San Francisco lawmaker’s platform calls for government funding for “LGBTQ-affirming healthcare,” the passage of the Equality Act and the restoration of “LGBTQ programs gutted by the administration.”
Please read our comment policy before commenting.