ICYMI: 15 Days Out, Pro-Equality Candidates Clapping Back to Anti-Trans Attacks While MAGA is Flailing

From candidates pushing back forcefully against anti-trans rhetoric to national voices exposing the GOP’s increasingly desperate strategy, the contrast couldn't be clearer: Pro-equality candidates are fighting for Americans' freedoms and economic security, while MAGA Republicans are flailing, out of ideas, and running out of excuses. 

Candidates would be wise to remember that LGBTQ+ Americans now make up 12% of the U.S. adult population, with nearly 9 in 10 registered voters indicating they definitely plan to cast their ballots this November. Our community is watching, and we will remember who wasted precious time and resources spreading lies about our communities instead of addressing the issues that matter most to American families. 

Sam Forstag Debate Response: Government Has No Business Sticking Its Nose in Our Personal Lives 

Forstag refuses to back down from his support for the LGBTQ+ community. Anchoring his response in the fundamental belief that the government has no business interfering in Americans’ personal lives, he turns the tables on his MAGA opponent, highlighting the hypocrisy of a party that claims to champion freedom while seeking to dictate how people live their lives. Finally, he goes back to the main point: this is a purposeful distraction from the corruption that is taking money out of people’s pockets. 

Christina Bohannan Hits Back in New Ad

In a new ad, Christina Bohannan takes on Rep. Miller-Meeks’ anti-trans attacks head-on, calling her smear campaign “downright pathetic.” Drawing on her own experience as a high school track athlete, making it clear that fairness in girls’ sports matters to her while naming the truly unfair nature of Miller-Meeks siding with drug companies while Iowa families pay the price. Rather than allowing MAGA Republicans to dictate the conversation, Bohannan redirects the spotlight to what is actually hurting Iowans: corporate influence and rising costs. 

Sherrod Brown's New Ad Turns the Tables on Husted 

Once again, Sherrod Brown goes on offense in response to anti-trans ads, calling out the falsehoods before turning the tables on Husted, calling out his vote to block the release of the Epstein files and reported campaign contributions from Epstein associates. Rather than capitulating to MAGA’s attacks, Brown hits back hard, putting Husted on the hotseat over his shameful record that actually impacts the safety of young women.

Morning Joe: Voters See Through the MAGA Playbook 

Willie Geist spells it out: MAGA's increasingly desperate reliance on anti-trans attacks shows their cruelty, hypocrisy, and outright distractions behind their culture-war playbook. From taking candidate past remarks out of context to targeting trans children, MAGA Republicans are doubling down on hate while ignoring what’s actually keeping Americans up at night, which is the cost of living and dire economic situation. They would rather manufacture outrage than answer for their own failures. 

And this from a CNN Column by Stephen Collinson:

The most obvious explanation for this ominous turn in the campaign, beyond Trump’s propensity for such dark arts, is that the Republicans lack a better story to tell. Trump’s approval rating is at 33% in the latest CNN poll of polls — a daunting number for an incumbent president three weeks from a midterm election. Polls show majorities of Americans blame the president’s decisions for worsening their struggle to cope with the high costs of food, housing, gasoline and diesel. And the rush by Vance and Trump to red states where Republicans never thought they’d be fighting in the campaign’s final stretch tells its own story.