Transphobia Lost At The Polls In Kentucky
In two key states, Republicans’ attacks on transgender rights did little to either sway swing voters or spike GOP turnout.
Allies of Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron
spent $5.2 million on ads hammering Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear for
vetoing the GOP state legislature’s adoption of a blanket ban on gender-affirming medical care, the teaching of gender identity in the classroom and allowing schoolkids to use bathrooms that align with their gender identity. (The legislature, which has a Republican supermajority in both chambers,
overrode the veto.)
The American Principles Project PAC, a socially conservative group, aired
several TV ads on the topic. “Why is Andy Beshear vetoing legislation that protects kids from permanent, harmful and sterilizing sex change drugs and procedures?” the narrator of
one such ad asks as ominous music plays.
Beshear has said he does not support sex changes for minors, and his opposition to the blanket ban was ultimately moot. But his victory continues a trend of Democrats easily brushing aside GOP attacks on transgender rights, following wins in 2022’s gubernatorial races in Kansas and Michigan.