GA Runoff Yet Another Referendum on Trans People

Bashing trans girls in sports will be Hershel Walker’s main argument in the GA runoff election. What does this mean for 2024?

by Evan Urquhart

Today in “Republicans won’t give up their anti-trans messages so easily”: Senate candidate Hershel Walker is doubling down on trans people in sports in a desperate attempt to motivate GOP base voters into ignoring the multiple abortions he paid for.

If you were hoping the GOP would take their lackluster midterm performance as a referendum on the transphobic messaging that formed the bedrock of their message to voters, this is a bad sign. Whatever combination of genuine hatred, internal polling results, and desperate flailing led them to think attacking trans people would win elections, it’s still fully active in the approach to this Georgia runoff.

If Walker loses, of course, this would afford the GOP another chance to take stock of their out-of-touchness. However, Walker’s unique weaknesses as a candidate mean that even a near total drubbing in this runoff will likely be attributed to him rather than the failures of transphobia.

Part of the problem, aside from Republicans genuinely being the sort of far right Christian extremists who see trans people’s mere existence as an affront to God’s design, is that the GOP doesn’t have a message that appeals to ordinary voters. Voters like social security, medicare, increasing the minimum wage, and dislike open racism and bands of gun toting facists threatening to overturn the votes of ordinary people. The fact that ordinary voters, particularly older voters, are often a bit confused and skeptical of trans people gives Republicans something. For a party that has mainly offered increasing violence, acrimony, extremism, and hatred, this must seem like a win for them.