They Broke With the Democratic Party on Trans Rights. Now, They’re Trying to Walk it Back.

After flirting with anti-trans positions, these Democrats have learned the hard way: transphobia is bad for America—and worse for them.

Gavin Newsom and Seth Moulton, the most prominent Democrats to shift on trans rights | Image Credit: Office of the Governor of California, Gage Skidmore // Wikimedia Commons

When Republicans first began using trans people as a political tool around 5 years ago, many Democrats were quick to oppose Republicans’ efforts to demonise the trans community. Accordingly, the federal government under Biden and Democratic-controlled states all passed laws to make their states more trans-friendly, providing valuable refuge against Republican policies. But upon Trump’s election last year, amid a firestorm of $200+ million worth of anti-trans attack ads, a handful of voices within the Democratic Party felt that this crucial support had been a mistake.

In the next few months, Democrats like New York Rep. Tom Suozzi, Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton, North Carolina Rep. Don Davis, and Texas Reps. Vicente Gonzalez and Henry Cuellar, along with California Governor Gavin Newsom and a number of Democratic candidates and state-level politicians, all shifted to the right when it came to trans people—almost always on trans sports. Well, at least they did.

Last month, Newsom, after facing significant criticism, appeared to walk back his anti-trans trend and signed a number of major trans-related bills, including one protecting trans kids’ medical records from federal subpoenas and another that makes transition-related court processes confidential. And in an appearance on San Francisco-based radio station KQED two weeks ago, Newsom even somewhat moderated his stance on trans sports. Now, he’s saying that while he still disagrees with a blanket policy allowing trans athletes to participate, it shouldn’t be a political issue and that he also thinks outright banning them is wrong.

Then, shortly after getting booed by the crowd while speaking at the No Kings protest in Boston, Seth Moulton—who is mounting a primary challenge against known trans ally Senator Ed Markey—appears to have fully reversed his earlier comments, stating he’d “support and lead” the trans anti-discrimination protections Markey has previously fought for. It’s also worth noting that Moulton, despite speaking out against trans sports participation shortly after Trump’s victory, actually voted against the House bill that would’ve banned trans people from sports.

Perhaps Newsom and Moulton have realised pandering to Republicans and ‘moderates’ may hurt their appeal towards the more progressive voters they will need to win over, especially given that the Democratic base is much less likely to support efforts to curtail trans rights. This is particularly true for Moulton, who will need to court one of the nation’s most progressive electorates if he is to overcome the 23-point lead Markey holds over him. But it’s not just them—most of the other Democrats who blamed their party’s 2024 losses on trans people also seem to have quieted down.

Tom Suozzi, who was among the first to point the finger at trans athletes, joined Moulton in voting against the trans sports bill, later defending his vote by saying that regardless of his opinion, it should be decided by sports bodies and education experts. Others haven’t spoken further: former representative and 2024 Texas Senate candidate Colin Allred—who is running for Senate again in 2026—has remained silent since his ad last year where he stated he “[doesn’t] want boys playing girls’ sports.” Don Davis, who voted present on the sports bill, has not publicly taken a position despite being at risk of losing his seat due to Republicans’ mid-decade redistricting.

That said, when it comes to the two Democrats who actually voted for the sports bill, it’s a different story. While Henry Cuellar, who is under indictment for allegedly taking bribes from Azerbaijan and a Mexican bank, has so far remained silent since his vote, Vicente Gonzalez has not backed down. During the 2024 election cycle, he ran anti-trans ads in response to Republicans attacking him on the issue, and in January, he openly praised Trump’s rhetoric on trans athletes. He also voiced support for bathroom bans in an interview with The Texas Tribune. Since these comments, Gonzalez’s district has been gerrymandered to be more Republican as part of the Texas GOP’s redistricting efforts, leaving his future in Congress uncertain.

Other Democrats have outright bucked attempts by self-described moderates to throw trans people under the bus. Virginia governor-elect Abigail Spanberger, despite her opponent spending roughly $30 million on anti-trans attack ads, said Virginia should maintain the status quo of leaving the government out of the sports and schools conversation as it relates to trans people. Spanberger, nodding to the harmful effects Republicans’ rhetoric can have on the trans community, added that she found it “really objectionable that there would be kids who turn on the television and as in an effort to attack me, see images of themselves sort of reflected as a villain.”

Overall, it seems that the Democratic Party as a whole has realised their support for trans people isn’t as harmful as Republicans have made it out to be. And if that’s the case, they’d be right: exit polling in this week’s elections indicated that around 1/5th of those who believe societal acceptance of trans people has ‘gone too far’ voted for Democratic candidates in Virginia and New Jersey anyways. Clearly, Republicans’ heavy focus on the issue ultimately didn’t sway voters, a trend that will most likely continue come next year’s midterms.

This solidification of Democratic support for trans Americans could not have come at a better time. Currently, Newsom is an early favourite to secure the 2028 nomination, and now that Trump has gotten his way on passport gender markers, it’ll be up to the next Democratic president to undo this hateful policy. Even if that person ends up being Newsom, there’s little doubt that it—along with many of Trump’s other actions—will be rescinded with a Democratic victory. Hopefully, Democrats have learned what many have tried to tell them all along: if they want to win, they can’t leave any Americans behind.