‘Sick to My Stomach’: Trans Americans Respond After Politicians Spend $183 Million Targeting Their Rights
They poured millions into anti-transgender campaign ads during the midterms. But election results suggest that attacking a vulnerable community may not be the winning strategy politicians expected.
Verniss McFarland, Max Mowitz, Shira Berkowitz and Soraya Sobreidad. Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images/Max Mowitz/Soraya Sobreidad/Shira Berkowitz/Vernise McFarland
For Metal Hennessy, a 19-year-old transgender man living in Kansas, the defeat of Republican senator Roger Marshall brought to mind a familiar line from The Wizard of Oz: “Ding dong, the witch is dead.”
Throughout the US midterm elections, transgender Americans found themselves at the center of an expensive political campaign. In Kansas alone, Republicans reportedly spent $7 million on anti-transgender advertising, broadcasting approximately 7,000 ads as Marshall fought to retain his seat against Democrat Adam Hamilton, a Methodist megachurch pastor.
For Hennessy, the attacks were hardly surprising. Kansas had already enacted legislation invalidating transgender residents’ driver’s licenses and requiring them to use bathrooms in government buildings according to their sex assigned at birth.
What did not surprise him, either, was the failure of the political strategy.
“I don’t think trans issues are a swing issue to the average cis-het population. Most people are concerned about gas prices or the economy,” he said.
Across the country, Republicans spent an estimated $183 million on advertising focused on transgender issues. Billionaire Elon Musk contributed millions to political organizations attacking transgender rights, particularly in the Texas Senate race involving Democrat James Talarico.
President Donald Trump also returned to the issue that helped shape his 2024 campaign, describing gender-affirming care as “mutilization.” Republican candidates repeatedly portrayed their Democratic opponents as supporters of an excessively progressive social agenda.
According to Zein Murib, an associate professor of political science at Fordham University, transgender advocates feared that victories by candidates using anti-transgender rhetoric would encourage similar campaigns in future elections.
Instead, Democrats captured victories in Texas and Kansas and gained control of both chambers of Congress.
Alabama elected Allison Montgomery, its first transgender state lawmaker, despite inflammatory comments about her identity from her Republican opponent. Georgia, Washington, Wisconsin, Michigan and Florida also elected transgender or non-binary candidates to state office for the first time.
“I think this is probably as positive an outcome as we could expect at this moment,” Murib said.
The Democratic victories reflected broader dissatisfaction with the Trump administration, including its immigration enforcement policies, war in Iran and tariffs. But for many transgender Americans, the results also represented a rejection of political campaigns built around fear and division.
Verniss McFarland, founder and executive director of Houston’s Black-led nonprofit The Mahogany Project, described the Republican advertising campaign as “a huge waste of money.”
Wulf James, a 41-year-old Two Spirit Indigenous resident of Kansas, characterized the advertisements as fearmongering.
“There have always been trans and queer people, and no amount of big spending is going to change that,” James said.
New York artist Soraya Sobreidad, 67, argued that Republicans deliberately weaponized transgender identities to distract voters from more pressing national problems.
She pointed out that transgender Americans represent only about 1% of the population aged 13 and older.
“Millions of dollars are being invested to spread false narratives about trans people,” she said, questioning why so little comparable investment reaches transgender communities themselves.
Sobreidad emphasized that transgender people, particularly Black transgender Americans, deserve lives defined by opportunity and fulfillment rather than discrimination, political attacks and constant struggles for basic rights.
But Republicans were not alone in using transgender issues during the campaign.
Several Democratic candidates also adopted messaging criticized by LGBTQ+ advocates.
In Iowa, senator-elect Josh Turek released an advertisement opposing transgender participation in women’s sports and taxpayer-funded gender-transition procedures. Turek maintained that the advertisement responded to misleading accusations from his Republican opponent.
Ohio representative Marcy Kaptur highlighted her willingness to vote alongside Republicans on legislation concerning transgender issues in schools.
Florida representative Kathy Castor similarly expressed opposition to transgender girls participating in girls’ sports.
Andrew R. Flores, an associate professor of government at American University, criticized Democrats who adopted such positions rather than challenging public misconceptions.
“Instead of guiding the public toward an attitude that could be more accepting, some Democrats capitulated,” Flores said.
He questioned whether Democrats would continue moving toward Republican positions instead of establishing a distinct approach to transgender rights.
Murib offered Michigan senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed as an alternative example. During a 60 Minutes interview shortly before the election, El-Sayed reaffirmed his support for transgender Americans.
“He wasn’t going to throw trans people under the bus,” Murib said, arguing that Democrats should defend their positions rather than imitate their political opponents.
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For transgender Americans, however, the consequences of hostile political messaging extend far beyond election results.
Jane, a 20-year-old college student in Kansas, described an atmosphere of suspicion created by the relentless advertising.
Although Jane had not personally experienced direct harassment, the campaigns intensified the feeling of being constantly observed and silently judged.
“Because of those ads, it’s much harder for me to live my life,” Jane said.
Jane requested anonymity because of concerns about personal safety.
In Iowa, Max Mowitz, executive director of LGBTQ+ advocacy organization One Iowa, expressed frustration over the expectation that transgender voters should support Democratic candidates even when those candidates promote policies they consider harmful.
“It’s been very hard to constantly need to center the fact that trans people are humans,” Mowitz said.
Still, Mowitz insisted that maintaining hope remains essential, even when optimism feels difficult to justify.
Shira Berkowitz, senior director of public policy at Missouri LGBTQ+ advocacy organization PROMO, described feeling “sick to my stomach” over the anti-transgender attacks.
Yet Berkowitz also shared an encounter that offered a reason for hope.
Two canvassers from the organization approached an older couple who initially showed little interest in discussing transgender issues. As the canvassers left, the couple’s gender-expansive teenage child arrived home, noticed their rainbow lanyards, and invited them back.
The resulting conversation gave the family an opportunity to reconsider its views.
“It is possible to change somebody’s heart and mind,” Berkowitz said.
Missouri, traditionally a Republican stronghold, subsequently voted to protect abortion rights and gender-affirming care for minors.
Despite these electoral developments, transgender Americans continue to confront substantial legal and political challenges.
Following Trump’s 2024 election victory, The Trevor Project, an LGBTQ+ youth suicide-prevention organization, reported a 700% increase in contacts to its crisis services.
Across the United States, 154 national anti-transgender bills remain under consideration, while 63 have passed in 2026.
Several states have restricted gender-affirming healthcare for minors and prohibited transgender athletes from participating on teams corresponding to their gender identity.
Although economic concerns, immigration and government corruption dominated voters’ priorities, public attitudes toward transgender participation in sports remain deeply divided.
Pew Research polling found that 73% of American adults were uncomfortable with transgender athletes competing on teams matching their gender identity.
That opposition translated into electoral victories for sports restrictions in several states.
Arizona approved a measure expanding its restrictions on transgender athletes, while Nebraska voters incorporated a similar prohibition into the state constitution.
Washington approved requirements allowing medical testing to establish eligibility for girls’ sports, including genital examinations or hormone testing. A comparable measure in Colorado appeared likely to pass, although the result remained unconfirmed.
Supporters argue that these restrictions protect fairness in girls’ sports. Opponents maintain that the measures are discriminatory and unnecessary.
Murib challenged the underlying political narrative, arguing that transgender sports debates promote the belief that women and girls require protection from transgender people.
The professor connected this framing to decades of conservative political organizing aimed at reinforcing traditional understandings of gender.
For Hennessy, the Kansas election results offered a moment of relief, but not an excuse to ignore the challenges ahead.
After going to bed early on election night, the 19-year-old woke to results that reinforced his belief that Americans were more concerned about economic survival than political attacks on transgender people.
He also emphasized that transgender Americans face the same everyday pressures as everyone else, including rising living costs and limited employment opportunities.
“Americans have bigger issues, and trans people have bigger issues, too,” Hennessy said.
His message was ultimately about moving beyond political division and returning attention to the problems affecting ordinary Americans.
“Like, we all gotta eat. Let’s celebrate for like the next 28 hours and then let’s get to work.”
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