Republican challenges his party’s obsession with trans people: “It’s just not resonating”
HOUSTON, TEXAS – MARCH 26: Speaker Dade Phelan joins Texas Governor Greg Abbott at NASA’s Johnson Space Center to announce the inaugural members of the Texas Space Commission Board of Directors and th (Getty Images)
A prominent Republican has criticised his own party’s fixation on transgender issues, warning that attacks on trans people are failing to resonate with the voters who could decide upcoming elections.
Dade Phelan, the former speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, told Texas Monthly that Republicans are increasingly worried about their political future, with some fearing the party could lose its control in Texas.
“People are freaking out,” Phelan said. “You see it in their faces.”
His concerns reflect wider anxiety within the Republican Party. On 14 October, Politico spoke to five senior Republican lawmakers who agreed that the party was likely to lose control of the US House of Representatives.
As Republicans confront the possibility of electoral losses, Phelan says their continued focus on transgender people, and in particular trans athletes, is failing to connect with voters.
What did Phelan say?
“We’re still running transgender ads. It’s just not resonating,” he said.
“Let’s be honest. The 8 to 10% of voters in the middle who are going to decide this election, when they hear stuff about boys in girls’ sports, they don’t even know what you’re talking about.”
Phelan argued that the issue has been repeatedly pushed by Republicans despite having little relevance to the everyday lives of many voters.
“This never happened in their communities, and they’ve been hearing about it for so many years, and so many other people have been accused of it,” he said. “What Republicans are talking about is just not what the swing voter is really interested in.”
His comments come amid years of Republican-led efforts to restrict transgender rights, including legislation targeting trans participation in school sports, access to gender-affirming healthcare and the recognition of transgender people in public life.
Republicans have frequently made transgender athletes a focus of their campaigns, framing their participation in women’s and girls’ sports as a threat to fairness and safety.
Phelan remains a member of the Texas House but is not seeking re-election.
With electoral pressure mounting, his comments also raise questions about whether the party’s continued focus on transgender people will help it retain support or, rather, distract from the issues that matter most to undecided voters.
