Democrats try to distance themselves from ‘transgender’ rhetoric in time for midterms

As November’s critical midterm elections draw near, high-profile Democrats are distancing themselves from one of their party’s most controversial issues. California Governor Gavin Newsom, typically one of President Donald Trump’s most vocal opponents, said in Sept. 14 comments to the Associated Press that he largely agrees with Trump on the issue of biological males competing in girls’ and women’s sports.

“I don’t want to be on that side of it, but I’m being honest — I’d be lying to you if I said differently,” Newsom told the Associated Press.

The Democratic governor described allowing biological males to compete against girls and women as “deeply unfair.”

“I haven’t been able to figure out how to make it fair from my perspective,” he said.

Another Democrat who recently changed his tune on transgender issues, as Zeale News reported, is Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico of Texas. Facing a heated race against Texas’ Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, Talarico last week walked back his previous comments in support of transgenderism, including claiming that science recognizes “six genders.”

“I’ve missed the mark on some of my past statements. I will be the first to admit it,” he said. His past comments were in support of allowing biological males to compete in girls’ and women’s sports.

“What I meant is that there are two sexes, and then there’s a small percentage of people with genetic abnormalities. Obviously didn’t say it correctly,” he added. “There are not six sexes. There are two.”

Ohio’s Democratic gubernatorial nominee Amy Acton has also seemingly diverged from the party on the issue, voicing her opposition to “boys playing in girls’ sports.”

Political analysts, however, have warned that some Democrats are likely adjusting their rhetoric in a bid to score points ahead of elections, with little real intention of defying the party’s stance on transgender issues.

CatholicVote Vice President and co-founder Joshua Mercer told Zeale News that Catholic voters in particular “cannot be deceived by these last-minute fake conversions.”

“Democrats have spent years and years promoting the radical trans agenda,” he said. “But now only 20% of Americans approve of the Democratic Party and with less than two months to go to the election, they're changing their tune and pretending they don't support this radical transgender agenda.”

Tom McClusky, CatholicVote’s director of Government Affairs, told Zeale News, “Democrats not only have a tough time being truthful about what the definition of a woman is, they also have little courage to stand behind their conviction of such gender dysphoria.”

“Beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing, men in women's dresses, and Democrats pretending to be moderates,” he added.

Recent polling has shown that while Democratic Party leadership may be devoted to supporting transgenderism, the American public is not.

A Pew Research Center survey in August found that nearly three quarters (75%) of Americans are “uncomfortable” with allowing biological males to compete against girls and women and two thirds (66%) supported laws or policies requiring athletes to compete on teams in accord with their biological sex. A Quinnipiac University poll in June similarly found that 70% of voters agree that biological males should not be permitted to participate in girls’ and women’s sports.

Even amongst Democrats, the majority (55%) said that they are uncomfortable with allowing biological males to compete in girls’ and women’s sports