Voter Opposition to Transgender Policies a Huge Political Winner for GOP

Swing voters opposed to transgender policies that enable deviant males to intrude into the private spaces of women could have a significant impact on this year’s gubernatorial races and next year’s midterm elections. So says Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project (APP). 

In an exclusive interview, Schilling told Restoration News Republican candidates who are willing to highlight the extremism of Democrats stand to benefit electorally. He emphasized that this is particularly true in cases where Democrats have gone on the record with votes that make it more difficult to for them to evade public scrutiny. APP is a nonprofit group that supports family values. 

The Republican candidate for New Jersey governor, Jack Ciattarelli, told Restoration News that his Democratic opponent, Mikie Sherrill, was a hypocrite for claiming to support women's rights while backing policies that make sports less safe for women.

(READ MORE Read More: Exclusive: Jack Ciattarelli's Plan to Make New Jersey Great Again)

Women's Rights Take Center Stage in Virginia and New Jersey

In New Jersey and Virginia, both Democrats running for governor this year have a record of embracing the transgender agenda. Both voted for legislation while in Congress that would allow males to access women’s locker rooms and bathrooms. 

Rep. Mikie Sherrill, (D-NJ), co-sponsored the “Equality Act” in 2021 and the “Transgender Bill of Rights” in 2023. The Equality Act, which passed the House but was blocked in the Senate, would add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as protected classes under federal civil rights law.

The Transgender Bill of Rights is a House Resolution that calls for greatly expanding public accommodations for individuals who identify with a gender that conflicts with their biological attributes. The resolution has never passed the House. Sherrill also voted against the Parental Bill of Rights, which required parental notification and consent in matters involving school curriculum and the privacy of their children. The bill passed the House, but not the Senate. 

Abigail Spanberger, the Democrat running for governor in Virginia, is also on record as she consistently supported the Equality Act and voted against the Parental Bill of Rights during her time in Congress. As Victoria Manning for Restoration News reported, Spanberger declined to answer questions about her stance on transgender policies during her October debate with Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the Republican candidate. In New Jersey, Schilling finds that Sherill has been equally evasive. But the parental rights advocate is also quick to point out that it will be difficult for the Democrat to sidestep their support for “radical policies” that alienate moderate voters with the caveat that Republican candidates must be willing to speak out. 

Democrat Candidates Embrace Radical Stance

“Sherrill and Spanberger do not even think parents should be allowed to know that the schools are teaching,” Schilling said. “That’s how radical they are. I don’t know how you vote against a transparency bill especially when our education system is in such dire straits. We have statistics that show only a third of our kids can read at grade level or do math, that’s called failure.”

Since Democrats continue to push a transgender agenda that alienates parents, puts girls in jeopardy, and rewrites civil rights laws, Republicans have an advantageous position, Schilling argues. Although the party in the White House typically loses seats in off-year elections, Schilling highlights data points that show the New Jersey gubernatorial race is within reach for Jack Ciattarelli, a businessman and former Republican assemblyman. In surveys done for APP, Schilling told Restoration News that when voters discovered Sherill supports taxpayer funded sex change procedures for minors, there is an 8.2 percentage point shift in the electorate toward Ciattarelli. Recent polls show the Republican challenger is either slightly behind or tied with Sherrill in what is traditionally a deep blue state. 

“This is an issue people vote on,” Schilling said. “If you're pushing men into women's sports, and men into women's showers and lockers in, and into other private facilities, then you really don't care about the rest of us. Democrats have to choose. Do we want men in girl’s bathrooms? Do we want to represent the 1.3% of the population that insists on giving kids sex change procedures and going into women's locker rooms and showers? Or do we want to side with the majority of the country? Democrats are siding with this tiny, small minority and Republicans should be thanking their lucky stars that Democrats have not made a course correction.”

New Jersey GOP Candidate Calls out “Hypocrisy” of Opponent

In New Jersey, Ciattarelli has been pounding away at Sherrill’s congressional votes in favor of transgender policies. In an interview with Restoration News, the Republican candidate called attention to the fact that Sherrill voted twice against the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act.”  The law would prohibit “school athletic programs from allowing individuals whose biological sex at birth was male to participate in programs that are for women or girls.” Restoration News sought comment from Sherrill’s campaign but did not receive a response. 

“There's a large hypocrisy in Mikie Sherrill’s rhetoric," Ciattarelli told Restoration News. “She'll say all the time that she supports women rights, but she voted twice to allow biological boys to participate in girls' sports. I think that's dangerous, and I think it's wrong, and it also undermines Title 9. So, the congresswoman is going have to come clean at some point on the inconsistency in those positions. I don't believe that biological boys should be in girls' locker rooms or girls' bathrooms.”

In Virginia, Spanberger is also on record voting against the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, in contrast to Lt. Gov. Earle-Sears who has spoken out aggressively in defense of parental rights and against policies that allow biological males to enter the private spaces for women. While Earle-Sears seems to be facing more of an uphill battle in Virginia than Ciattarelli does in New Jersey, Schilling sees the Republican lieutenant governor suddenly gaining ground thanks in part to public opposition to transgender policies. 

“The gap has already closed from when this race first started with Spanberger having anywhere from a 12 to 14-point lead,” Schilling said. “Now there are several polls showing it is a three- or four-point race and the transgender issue is the reason why the race has become competitive.”

Restoration of America PAC recently launched a statewide TV ad in Virginia named “Horrifying” that highlights Spanberger’s radical positions regarding children and makes the case that she is attempting to conceal her true positions. 

"A governor must be a leader, not a weak, timid politician afraid to tell the public where they stand," Restoration of America PAC Founder and CEO Doug Truax said in a press release. "She doesn't want to talk about these issues because the vast majority of Virginians disagree with her and are horrified by what it means for families in the Commonwealth."

If Earle-Sears does fall short in the governor’s race, Schilling said that can be attributed to Spanberger’s huge financial advantage. He estimates that Spanberger has raised about $41 million in comparison to Earle-Sears who has raised about $16 million. 

“That’s an almost three to one advantage and that’s a big discrepancy,” Schilling said. “Fundraising for Republicans is difficult in blue states.”

Back in Jersey, Schilling is impressed with the moves Ciattarelli has made recently and views him as a strong candidate in a state that has ripened toward this message.

“Ciattarelli is a great candidate,” Schilling said. “He has been bringing up the right issues and knows how to throw a punch or two. New Jersey is very different from Virginia in that New Jersey has a deeper working-class element whereas in Northern Virginia is full of bureaucrats and government employees.”

Going forward, Schilling advised Republicans to remain on offense against transgender policies.

“The Republicans' best hope for winning in 2025 or in the midterms next year is to run against the extremism of Democrats and the Democrats’ opposition to parental rights,” Schilling said. “The Democrats are so extreme," he continued, “not only do they not think that parents should have a right to tell schools what to teach, but they don't think parents should know what schools are teaching and all this is all coming at a time when the national assessment for educational progress scores have never been lower.”

In person early voting in New Jersey begins this Saturday Oct 25 and runs through Sunday Nov. 2. In person early voting in Virginia began on Friday, Sept. 29 and ends on Saturday Nov. 1. Both states hold their in-person election on Nov. 4. 

(READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: Hispanic Voters are Pulling New Jersey Right—and May Deliver the Gov Race to GOP’s Jack Ciattarelli)