‘A huge waste of money’: trans Americans on weathering Republican midterms attacks
Republicans spent an estimated $183m on ads about transgender issues – and some Democratic candidates parroted anti-trans messaging, too Metal Hennessy, a 19-year-old trans man who lives in Kansas, quoted one of his state’s most enduring exports – The Wizard of Oz – when describing the defeat of Roger Marshall, the incumbent Republican senator, on Tuesday: “Ding dong, the witch is dead.” This US midterm season…
Key points
- Republicans spent an estimated $183m on ads about transgender issues in the midterms.
- Texas, Kansas, the Senate and the House flipped blue, and Alabama elected its first transgender lawmaker.
- Some Democratic candidates also used anti-trans messaging and won their races.
Republicans spent an estimated $183m on ads about transgender issues in the run-up to Tuesday's US midterms, according to The Guardian. In Kansas, the AP reported that $7m went into related ads that aired 7,000 times as Senator Roger Marshall fought off a challenge from Democrat Adam Hamilton.
Despite the spending, Texas and Kansas flipped blue, along with the US Senate and House. Alabama elected its first transgender lawmaker, Allison Montgomery, and Georgia, Washington, Wisconsin, Michigan and Florida elected trans and non-binary candidates at state level for the first time.
Trans Americans respond
Verniss McFarland, founder of the Houston nonprofit The Mahogany Project, called the ads "a huge waste of money". Wulf James, a 41-year-old Two Spirit Indigenous person in Kansas, described them as a "fear-mongering exercise".
Soraya Sobreidad, a 67-year-old artist in New York, said the ads were meant to take focus off bigger issues, noting that only 1% of Americans aged 13 and up are transgender. Jane, a 20-year-old Kansas college student, said the ads made it "much harder for me to live my life".
There have always been trans and queer people, and no amount of big spending is going to change that
— Wulf James
Democrats and remaining barriers
Some Democratic candidates also used anti-trans messaging and won. Iowa's Josh Turek released an ad opposing "males competing in female sports", and Ohio's Marcy Kaptur said she voted with Republicans to keep "transgender ideologies out of schools".
The article says 154 national anti-trans bills are under consideration, with 63 passing in 2026. Arizona approved a ballot measure expanding its ban on trans athletes, Nebraska added a ban to its constitution, and Washington passed a sports ban requiring girls to undergo "medical testing".
