Four Democratic candidates locked in competitive House races have launched campaign ads casting themselves as defenders of girls' sports, even as their own voting records show they opposed or sidestepped the very legislation they now claim to champion. The New York Post first reported the ad blitz Monday, and the pattern is hard to miss: the seats are close, the midterms are five weeks out, and suddenly the party line is inconvenient.
Kaptur: 'Boys Should Not Play in Girls' Sports' — After Voting Against the Bill That Would Stop It
Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), fighting a tight reelection battle against Republican Derek Merrin, goes furthest in her spot. "I voted with Republicans to keep transgender ideology out of our schools because parents know what's best for their kids. And boys should not play in girls' sports," Kaptur says in the ad, according to the Post.
There's one problem. Kaptur voted against the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, joining 205 members of her own caucus in opposition, the Post reported. The bill passed the House 218-206, with two Texas Democrats crossing the aisle to back it. Kaptur is also a co-sponsor of the Equality Act, which critics argue would erase sex-based distinctions in athletics altogether. Both facts sit directly beneath the ad's central claim.
"I voted with Republicans to keep transgender ideology out of our schools... And boys should not play in girls' sports."
— Rep. Marcy Kaptur, in a new campaign ad
Davis Voted 'Present' — Then Discovered Biology
Rep. Don Davis (D-NC) sidestepped the same vote entirely, recording a "present" rather than taking a position on the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, per the Post. Now, in a fresh ad in North Carolina's redrawn 1st Congressional District, Davis argues the states should set their own rules.
The Daily Wire's headline on Davis summed up the vibe: "Vulnerable Dem Suddenly Discovers What A Woman Is With His Seat On The Line." A "present" vote is not a profile in courage — it's a parking space. And voters in a swing district can read a roll call.
Iowa: Two Candidates Whose Records Actually Exist on Paper
The pattern repeats in Iowa. State Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, challenging Rep. As a legislator, she voted against a 2022 bill barring transgender athletes from girls' sports and a 2023 measure restricting locker-room access — both of which Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law.
Nunn's campaign responded with a spot accusing Garriott of rewriting her record. That's not spin; that's the actual vote tally, on the record, with dates attached.
Democratic candidate Lindsay James, running for the seat Rep. Ashley Hinson is vacating, also opposed both Iowa measures, the Post reported.
Safer Seats, Different Tune
The retreat isn't uniform. In safer Democratic districts, the old position is alive and well. Socialist nominee Claire Valdez recently reaffirmed a "Trans Bill of Rights" as a priority if Democrats retake the House, per the Post's report.
So the message from Democratic leadership is effectively: swing districts get the pitchforks-and-parents routine; safe districts keep the party line. That's not a principle. That's a spreadsheet.
The Public Is Way Ahead of Them
The scramble makes sense given where voters actually stand. Pew Research Center polling published last year found 66 percent of Americans support requiring athletes to compete on teams matching their sex at birth, and the number has been climbing for years. Pew found Republicans broadly united, with Democrats split.
In Washington state, a ballot initiative would require sex verification — a genital exam, chromosome test, or hormone test — for students joining girls' sports teams. Polling conducted by Let's Go Washington, a group backing the initiative and which queried 7,500 people, found it leading 56 percent to 44 percent, with 73 percent of Republicans, 48 percent of Democrats, and 52 percent of independents in favor, according to KUOW. Andrew Villeneuve of the left-leaning Northwest Progressive Institute told KUOW that when voters read the actual ballot language, "Washingtonians are poised to vote yes." That's a deep-blue state trending toward keeping men out of girls' sports.
Our Take
Here's what's really happening: four Democrats who voted, dodged, or "present"-ed their way through the single most lopsided cultural issue in America woke up one morning, checked their internal polls, and remembered that girls exist.
Kaptur voted against the bill her own ad implies she supported. Davis couldn't bring himself to vote either way, then ran on the states' rights excuse. Garriott and James voted against Iowa's protections twice, then discovered locker rooms are a problem. These aren't conversions. They're costume changes five weeks before an election.
And notice who isn't pretending. In the safe seats, the party is still promising a "Trans Bill of Rights." The play is simple: lie to the swing districts, keep the base happy in the fortress districts, and hope nobody pulls the roll call. The American people deserve better than a campaign ad that contradicts a floor vote. The good news is that 66 percent of them already know the difference — and in November, they can prove it with a ballot.
