In an attempt to allay voters’ worries about President Donald Trump’s leadership and the status of the economy, Republicans have spent an estimated $183 million on television commercials centered on transgender-related attacks against Democrats in the final stages of this year’s midterm elections.
The figures given to The Associated Press by analytics firm AdImpact, the enormous expenditure through October 25 generated over 217,000 TV commercials nationally and surpasses the amount Republicans spent on comparable advertisements at the same time before Election Day in 2024, a year with a presidential election.
Quick Facts
| What Happened | Republicans launched television ads targeting Democrats over transgender issues. |
|---|---|
| Total Spending | An estimated $183 million. |
| TV Ad Airings | Approximately 217,000 nationwide. |
| Reporting Period | Through October 25, 2026. |
| Key State | Texas, with an estimated $58 million in related advertising. |
| Main Issue | Transgender policy and its role in the US midterm elections. |
| Voter Priorities | Polling suggests the economy and cost of living rank above transgender issues. |
Trump Highlights Transgender Issues Amid Rising Costs
The expenditure campaign echoed the rhetoric of other Republicans on the campaign trail, including Trump, who has downplayed growing gas prices and other expenses while highlighting what he called an urgent threat from Democratic policies to America’s children.
When people repeatedly claim that high costs are their top worry, the Republican focus on transgender problems presents a critical test of whether a narrative that had succeeded in previous elections, particularly in deep red areas, can still be powerful.
“Transgender mutilation of your children,” he said at his rally in Florida on Sunday.
Republicans Use Transgender Issues in Midterms
Few cultural topics better represent the Republican Party’s turn away from abortion and toward social concerns in the Trump era than transgender rights.
Republicans have used the issue as a potent emotional motivator, particularly in Republican-leaning regions where they must win to keep control of Congress, despite the fact that very few Americans are actually impacted by laws intended to protect transgender individuals from discrimination.
With an estimated $58 million for more than 50,000 airings, the Texas high-stakes Senate race alone has taken up the greatest portion of Republican-backed transgender-related expenditure, according to AdImpact.
Voters Prioritize Economy Over Transgender Issues
Voters’ stated priorities for this midterm season contrast sharply with the Republican Party’s agenda.
According to Republican pollster Chris Wilson, “Republicans clearly believe these issues expose a cultural disconnect between Democratic candidates and a significant portion of the electorate.” “Voters can use a candidate’s stance on transgender policy as a proxy for their broader values and judgment, not necessarily because transgender policy is a top voting priority.”
Transgender concerns are “one of the most important issues” in the election, according to only around 10% of registered voters.
Economy Outranks Transgender Issues Among Voters
That is far less than the almost 8 out of 10 who brought up the economy or the cost of living, as well as other subjects that have come up throughout the campaign, such as the conflict with Iran and healthcare.
Although Republicans were more inclined than Democrats and independents to believe that transgender issues are crucial to this election, they were still ranked lower than other concerns.
Voters like Jerry Casner, a 74-year-old registered Republican and three-time Trump supporter from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, find resonance in the topic. He works twelve hours a week at a grocery shop after retiring from a local Army depot.
The issue is dominating these states
According to AdImpact, Republicans ran transgender-themed advertisements in federal, state, and municipal elections around 217,000 times during the general election, at an estimated cost of $183 million through October 25. That represents an increase from $151 million spent in the general election of 2024 as of the same number of days before the election.
To counter the accusations, Democrats have spent over $11 million on advertisements pertaining to transgender people.
The Texas PAC, a sPAC that supports Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton and is mostly sponsored by Elon Musk, has attacked Democrat James Talarico on transgender issues in at least three different TV advertisements.
Republican Ads Target Democrats on Transgender Issues
In one of them, the announcer claims that Vise President Kamala Harris is for “they, them,” echoing a Trump advertisement from the 2024 campaign. You have President Trump on your side. Talarico is accused in the Texas advertisement of endorsing taxpayer-funded sex-reassignment surgery for adolescents, claiming that he is “for they them, not you.”
In a third Texas PAC advertisement, Talarico is accused of supporting child abuse charges against parents who, according to another, favor public funding of gender reassignment surgery for adolescents.
Several transgender-themed advertisements are being produced against Democratic Senate candidate Sherrod Brown in Ohio by Republican organizations under the direction of the Senate Leadership Fund PAC.
