TIME Report: Some Democrats Privately Say Party Should Reassess Positions on Transgender Athletes
A new TIME magazine feature on the Democratic Party’s post-election soul-searching suggests that a number of elected Democrats believe the party’s stance on certain social issues—including transgender participation in girls’ sports—may be out of step with many voters, as per Fox News.
Those lawmakers, however, spoke only on background, telling TIME they feared public backlash from progressive activists.
“There are some sports where trans girls shouldn’t be playing against biological girls,” one Democratic member of Congress said, according to reporter Charlotte Alter. Although the lawmaker claimed most colleagues shared that view, he added they were “afraid of the blowback that comes from a very small community.”
Alter noted that all Democrats who voiced these concerns insisted on anonymity, underscoring what she described as a lingering fear of antagonizing the party’s most vocal activists on cultural issues.
The article argues that the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision helped energize Democratic turnout that year but warns the resulting confidence may have led to “dangerous complacency” ahead of the 2024 cycle, when Republicans captured unified control of Washington.
While acknowledging deep internal disagreement, Alter writes that many Democrats see the current situation as a chance to “rethink policies, reframe messaging, and recruit new leaders” in preparation for the 2028 presidential race—much as they did following their 2004 defeats.
