Texas Republican Says Anti-Trans Ads Are Not Resonating With Voters
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Published by: MS NOW
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October 30, 2026: October 30, 2026: Corrected a premature categorical headline asserting anti-transgender ads have failed to win Texas voters, even though the November 3 Senate election has not yet taken place. The revised headline and summary accurately attribute the assessment that ads are not resonating to former Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan and distinguish national polling from Texas race outcomes. Reworded the description of advertising about James Talarico so allegations in campaign ads are not presented as independently established facts, and removed redundant speculation. The updated 193-word article passed independent source reopening and 13 passage-level claims against original MS NOW reporting plus distinct Truthout and Yahoo/Chron reporting. Original article, audit and evidence are backed up; the original automatic audit is marked corrected, not represented as a new local Qwen approval.
Anti-transgender ads have been a major focus of Republican campaign spending in Texas, with an estimated $183 million spent nationwide on such messaging. Some ads target Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico with allegations about gender-affirming care and parental rights. Despite the scale of ad spending, Texas Republican Dade Phelan says the messaging is not resonating with voters. He claims that $100 million in ads has not shifted voter sentiment in the Senate race.
Democratic voters were most likely to prioritize transgender rights, while Republican and independent voters were less likely to do so.
In a Q&A with Texas Monthly, Phelan stated that Republican candidates are talking too much about transgender issues and that the messaging fails to connect with swing voters. He noted that younger voters and suburban women, who previously leaned Republican, are now aligning with Democrats.
The Trump campaign’s 2024 ad about Kamala Harris being 'for they/them' was credited with winning over persuadable voters. Polls suggest voters see these issues as low priority, and trust Democrats on them more than Republicans. This may limit the effectiveness of the ads in influencing the outcome of the Texas Senate race.
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