Democratic Senate hopeful in South Carolina pushes back against Republican anti-trans campaign

In response to a Republican-funded advertisement that accused her of supporting “they/them” pronouns and portraying transgender people as predatory, Democratic Senate candidate Annie Andrews produced a new video asserting she does not back biological men playing in women’s sports and has never performed gender-affirming surgery on minors. The ad, featuring Andrews in a white lab coat, targets a super-PAC backing her opponent Darline Graham and echoes long-standing anti-trans rhetoric promoted by Donald Trump.

Across the country, GOP operatives are leveraging trans-athlete controversies to pressure Democratic contenders, with candidates like Marcy Kaptur and Don Davis releasing their own statements on keeping transgender ideology out of schools and sports. Some Democrats have softened their language, as seen in ads from New York’s Blake Gendebien and Ohio’s Sherrod Brown, while advocacy groups such as Equality Pac have criticized certain approaches as unacceptable. The Human Rights Campaign recently issued guidance urging Democrats to avoid attacking the trans community, citing the political advantage it gives to MAGA forces.