Democrats are grappling with the role their party's widespread support for transgender rights played in their failure to win either the presidency or the chambers of Congress, with sharp opinions within the party reeling from defeat. are being exchanged.
Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), a five-term lawmaker who has previously voted for transgender rights along with most other Democrats, blasted Democratic support for transgender athletes in women's sports in an interview. This sparked a storm of intense criticism. The New York Times reported on the party's defeat on election night.
“Democrats spend too much time trying not to offend anyone, rather than being brutally honest about the challenges facing many Americans,” Moulton said. said. “I have two little girls and I don't want them to get run over by a man, or a former male athlete, on the field, but as a Democrat I should be scared to say that.”
The Massachusetts Democratic Party widely condemned Moulton's comments. One reason for this is that Moulton referred to the transgender girl as a “man.” This expression is often used by those opposed to transgender rights to convey that transgender people are not who they say they are.
State Democratic Party Chairman Steve Kerrigan told the Boston Globe Mr Moulton's comments “do not represent the broader views of our party”, he said. State Democratic Rep. John Moran, who is gay, called Moulton “a weakling” in a social media post. Members of the City Council in Salem, Moulton's hometown, called for his resignation.
Mr. Moulton is not alone: A second Democrat, Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York; told the New York Times The Democratic Party argued that in order to win the election, it must “stop pandering to the far left.”
“I don't want to discriminate against anyone, but I don't think biological boys should play women's sports,” Suozzi said.
Other Democrats said the party doesn't need to abandon its support for transgender rights, but it needs to rethink its messaging, especially in battleground states.
“We need to improve our messaging. In my district, all the messages for transgender people were blocked, which was very painful,” said Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas), who narrowly won re-election this month. spoke.
Mr. Gonzalez's opponent, former Rep. Mayra Flores (R-Texas), took advantage of Mr. Gonzalez's support for transgender rights during her campaign, leading to a shift in Republican positions across the country this year. It reflected an attack launched against weak Democrats.
In campaigns, including Gonzalez's, Republicans have used Democratic votes against policies targeting transgender rights as ammunition, portraying opponents as extreme and out of touch with the sensibilities of most Americans. Cut to an attack ad depicting this.
“All I'm saying is, never vote with the whip for someone you know is the loser in your district,” Gonzalez said.
The extent to which transgender issues influenced the election outcome is still up for debate.
One of President-elect Trump's most effective ads, “Breakfast,” God's on-air response to Vice President Harris' remarks that incarcerated transgender people should have access to gender-affirming care. Club” host Charlamagne's 30-second spot has been changed. Trump has a 2.7 percentage point advantage in the election. The New York Times reportedHe cited an analysis by Future Forward, a major super PAC that supports Harris.
According to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 people who voted in this year's election, more than half of voters said support for transgender rights in government and society has gone too far. This includes 85% of Trump supporters and about 25% of Trump supporters. Harris voters.
But transgender issues rank far below issues like the economy, democracy, and national security when it comes to getting people to vote. According to Gallup. According to Gallup, relations with China and Russia and trade with other countries also fell.
When voters were asked about the most important issue in this year's election, only 4% said opposition to transgender athletes and surgery was a driving force behind their vote. According to exit polls The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest LGBTQ advocacy group, made the announcement.
“Let me be clear: the party that was focused on the culture wars, the party that was focused on transgender people, was the Republican Party,” said Sara, the first openly transgender elected official to Congress.・Congressman McBride (Democrat, Delaware) said. he told reporters outside the parliament building. “From what I've seen from voters in Delaware, I don't believe voters in my state were responding to these attacks.”
McBride said Delaware is largely part of Philadelphia's media market, where President-elect Trump and the Republican Party ran ads targeting transgender rights as part of a multimillion-dollar campaign in the final stages of the election. He pointed out that he sent a large number of them. Still, Mr. McBride emerged victorious in his district.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), whose daughter is transgender, said in a post-election call organized by the Working Families Party that “some conservative Democrats” are “just trying to solve problems. “Instead, they are immediately stepping in and trying to blame the most vulnerable.” to look at yourself. ”
in a statement To independent journalist Erin ReidSen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) compared the belief among some Democrats that support for trans-inclusive policies cost them the election to the party's responsibility on same-sex marriage for the Democratic Party's 2004 defeat. did.
“After the 2004 election, many pundits said it was time for Democrats to stop standing up for gays. They were wrong and we could claim we were right and still win elections. “History has proven that,” he said.
Moulton's comments were particularly notable, and for some, distressing, given his voting record.
Moulton co-sponsored House Democrats' Transgender Bill of Rights twice, in 2022 and 2023. The bill guarantees transgender student-athletes the right to participate on sports teams that match their gender identity.
He also supports the Equality Act, legislation that would make sexual orientation and gender identity a protected class, and is a member of the Congressional Equality Caucus, which works to advance LGBTQ equality in the House of Representatives.
Last spring, Ms. Moulton voted against the passage of Rep. Greg Steube's (R-Fla.) Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. The law called for changes to Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination in schools and educational programs receiving government assistance. Funding — recognizing sex as “based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”
A spokesperson for Moulton responded to questions such as why Moulton twice co-signed bills allowing transgender athletes to participate in women's sports or whether his stance on transgender issues has changed. Did not answer. Moulton did not support House Republicans' ban on transgender athletes because he believed it was too broad and politically stigmatized, a spokesperson said.
Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healey, the state's first openly lesbian governor, said Moulton's comments to the Times were “playing politics with people.”
“We shouldn't do that,” Mr Healy said, adding: “I think it's very important that the party debates all the issues and it's important that members are open to those discussions.”
meanwhile recent appearances Moulton said on MSNBC that he stands by his position, but acknowledged that he “didn't understand every word exactly.” he told the New York Times On Friday, members of the LGBTQ community announced they thanked him for speaking out.
“Some of them believe that the transgender movement has gone too far, and it is jeopardizing the progress we have made,” Moulton said.
Suozzi as well federal law supported His comments to the Times to promote transgender rights have drawn far less criticism from Democrats. His office did not respond to requests for comment.
Mike Lillis contributed.
