Some Transgender Voters in the US Plan to Vote for Democrats Despite Transphobia Among Some Democratic Candidates
Some transgender voters in the United States plan to support Democrats in the November 3, 2026 elections despite disappointment with candidates’ statements on transgender rights. That is the picture described in a report by Uncloseted Media and The 19th, published on October 28 and republished by the Washington Blade. The article presents individual interviews across several states, rather than a representative opinion poll.
One source of the dispute is an ad by pediatrician Annie Andrews, the Democratic US Senate nominee in South Carolina. As CNN reported, on October 8 she opposed transgender women’s participation in women’s sports, referring to them as “biological men,” and gender-transition surgery for minors. Her campaign website says both positions have been consistent; the campaign does not regard her criticism of a sports bill in 2022 as contradictory.
Max Sorgenfrey, a transgender resident of Charleston, told the reporters she would still vote for Andrews, hoping to hold her accountable to LGBT voters afterward. Not everyone is making that choice: Kathleen Burns of Ohio, who is married to a transgender nonbinary person, plans to support other Democrats but leave the governor’s race, in which Amy Acton is running, blank.
The civil rights organization Equality Ohio lowered Acton’s grade from A to B following her remarks about transgender people. However, it also cites her campaign’s response: the candidate promises to oppose discrimination and believes medical decisions should be made by patients and their doctors. Equality Ohio explains that a B means an insufficient track record alongside supportive public statements on LGBT issues.
In Iowa, Democratic US Senate candidate Josh Turek also said in an ad that he opposes transgender women competing in women’s sports and taxpayer funding for gender-transition surgery. According to Iowa Capital Dispatch, the LGBT organization One Iowa Action criticized his position on public funding for care. Republicans, meanwhile, accused him of making statements at odds with his past votes. Turek says he opposes discrimination but believes rules in sports are necessary.
In Texas, attorney Bryanna Jenkins described her support for Democrats as an electoral strategy rather than a vote of confidence. Avery Belyeu, CEO of Houston’s LGBT community center, the Montrose Center, views Senate candidate James Talarico more positively: she points to his past support for transgender people and considers access to medical care and changing identity documents more pressing issues than the sports dispute.
The subject features prominently in campaign advertising. According to AdImpact estimates published by the Associated Press, through October 25 Republicans had spent about $183 million on television ads attacking Democrats over transgender issues; Democrats had spent about $11 million on ads addressing the topic, largely in response.
Uránia previously reported on Annie Andrews’ ad and the response to her statements.
