National
Baldwin front-runner to claim Dem nomination for Senate
But lesbian lawmaker likely faces stiff challenge in general election
Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Claiming the Democratic nomination to become the next U.S. senator from Wisconsin — and the first openly gay U.S. senator — just got easier for Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) now that a potential major opponent has announced he won’t seek office in 2012.
Former U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, who lost his seat during the Republican wave in the 2010 election, said in a message to supporters last week that he wouldn’t run for office in 2012.
“I am grateful for the friendship and support of so many fellow Wisconsinites who suggested I consider running for statewide office in the coming months,” Feingold wrote. “While I may seek elective office again someday, I have decided not to run for public office during 2012.”
Feingold, who since his departure from the Senate founded the group Progressive United, said he instead wants to devote his time to teaching at Marquette University Law School and working to overturn Citizens United, a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing unlimited corporate funding for independent political broadcasts in political campaigns.
He was seen as the favorite to win the Democratic nomination — and likely the seat itself — for the seat Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.) will vacate upon his retirement at the end of next year. With Feingold out of the picture, political observers say Baldwin, who has said she’s “very likely” to pursue a run for Senate, is the front-runner to claim the Democratic nomination. The only out lesbian in Congress, Baldwin has been serving in the U.S. House since 1999.
In a statement to supporters, Baldwin praised Feingold for being what she called “one of the true legends of Wisconsin’s progressive tradition” and said she expects his “political courage” to continue to impact Wisconsin and the country for years to come.
“Lots of you have asked me whether Russ’ announcement will influence my plans,” Baldwin said. “As I’ve said, I’m seriously exploring a race for the U.S. Senate — and I’ll have more to say about that soon. But whoever represents our party in that important election should have the same progressive principles — and the same courage to do what’s right — that Russ Feingold has displayed every day of his distinguished career.”
Baldwin was expected to hold off on announcing any decision to run for U.S. Senate until after the Wisconsin special elections, which took place Aug. 9, and after Feingold revealed his intentions for 2012. Now that the election is over and Feingold has announced his decision, Baldwin is widely expected to make an announcement just after Labor Day.
Denis Dison, spokesperson for the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, which has been pushing Baldwin to run for the Senate, said Feingold’s announcement is “encouraging.”
“We’re still assuming that there is going to be a competitive primary; somebody is going to pop up,” Dison said. “But I think if her decision had much to do with whether or not Feingold was running, obviously this is a much more encouraging environment and atmosphere to run in.”
Larry Sabato, a political scientist at the University of Virginia, said via e-mail that Feingold’s decision to sit out the race is a “big boost” for Baldwin.
“She could not have gotten the nomination against Feingold — no question he would have defeated her if she had even run, which I doubt,” Sabato said. “Now, she’s got a good chance to be the Democratic nominee, although we have to wait and see who runs against her. The dust hasn’t settled from Feingold’s announcement.”
Other Democrats who are said to be mulling potential bids for the Senate seat include Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wisc.), a seven-term member of the U.S. House, and Steve Kagen, a former U.S. House member from Wisconsin who was unseated in 2010. Kind has publicly said he’s considering jumping in the race.
But according to data published last week from Public Policy Polling, Baldwin would defeat those opponents in a Democratic primary. In a three-way race with Kind and Kagen she leads with 37 percent to 21 percent for Kind and 15 percent for Kagen. Additionally, in just a two-way race with Kagen she leads 48-19.
In addition to favorable polling numbers in the hypothetical primary, Baldwin also has more money on hand compared to either Kind or Kagen. In the most recent Federal Election Commission reports, Baldwin posted $1.1 million in cash on hand after raising more than $600,000 thus far this election cycle. Comparatively, Kind has $478,000 in cash on hand after raising $592,00o this cycle. Kagen has no cash on hand and has only raised $18,000 this cycle.
Dison said potential Democratic challengers to Baldwin will look at those numbers in determining whether to run against her.
“I think if anybody who’s going to consider getting into the race will look at that polling, they’ll look at her fundraising and decide whether it will too much of an uphill battle to challenge her,” Dison said.
But winning the seat against a Republican contender in the general election will be more challenging. Potential GOP opponents — like former Gov. Tommy Thompson or former U.S. Rep. Mark Neumann — are marginally ahead of her in the polls.
The data from PPP shows that in a match-up between Neumann and Baldwin, Neumann would win 44-40, although 15 percent of responders said they were undecided. In a contest between Thompson and Baldwin, Thompson would win 50-42, although eight percent of voters identified as undecided. Fundraising data for Thompson and Neumann wasn’t available on the FEC website.
Sabato said the key for the general election is whether Thompson wins the GOP nomination and, if he does, how handily he wins the Republican mantle.
“He’s viewed as a moderate within the GOP, and as we saw in 2010, that can cause problems,” Sabato said. “Will the Tea Party back Mark Neumann or some other opponent of Thompson? Will Gov. Scott Walker and Sen. Ron Johnson decide to endorse Thompson or an opponent in the GOP primary?”
If Thompson clinches the Republican nomination without too much difficulty, Sabato said he’d give him a slight edge over Baldwin in the general election, but added his prediction could be off because of the timing of the Senate race.
“I hasten to add that Wisconsin is going to be a real battleground presidentially,” Sabato said. “Obama’s large majority in 2008 is less representative of Wisconsin’s contested nature than the 2000 and 2004 presidential results, which were extremely close. Presidential coattails could matter greatly in Wisconsin, as in some other Senate contests. And look at the recent Wisconsin State Senate recall elections — $30 million plus spent on a handful of local races, with emotions running very high.”
Sabato said “things are so unclear on both sides” in the Wisconsin Senate race that his Crystal Ball website will rank the contest as a “Toss Up” in its next edition.
Federal Government
RFK Jr.’s HHS report pushes therapy, not medical interventions, for trans youth
‘Discredited junk science’ — GLAAD
A 409-page report released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services challenges the ethics of medical interventions for youth experiencing gender dysphoria, the treatments that are often collectively called gender-affirming care, instead advocating for psychotherapy alone.
The document comes in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order barring the federal government from supporting gender transitions for anyone younger than 19.
“Our duty is to protect our nation’s children — not expose them to unproven and irreversible medical interventions,” National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya said in a statement. “We must follow the gold standard of science, not activist agendas.”
While the report does not constitute clinical guidance, its findings nevertheless conflict with not just the recommendations of LGBTQ advocacy groups but also those issued by organizations with relevant expertise in science and medicine.
The American Medical Association, for instance, notes that “empirical evidence has demonstrated that trans and non-binary gender identities are normal variations of human identity and expression.”
Gender-affirming care for transgender youth under standards widely used in the U.S. includes supportive talk therapy along with — in some but not all cases — puberty blockers or hormone treatment.
“The suggestion that someone’s authentic self and who they are can be ‘changed’ is discredited junk science,” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement. “This so-called guidance is grossly misleading and in direct contrast to the recommendation of every leading health authority in the world. This report amounts to nothing more than forcing the same discredited idea of conversion therapy that ripped families apart and harmed gay, lesbian, and bisexual young people for decades.”
GLAAD further notes that the “government has not released the names of those involved in consulting or authoring this report.”
Janelle Perez, executive director of LPAC, said, “For decades, every major medical association–including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics–have affirmed that medical care is the only safe and effective treatment for transgender youth experiencing gender dysphoria.
“This report is simply promoting conversion therapy by a different name – and the American people know better. We know that conversion therapy isn’t actually therapy – it isolates and harms kids, scapegoats parents, and divides families through blame and rejection. These tactics have been used against gay kids for decades, and now the same people want to use them against transgender youth and their families.
“The end result here will be a devastating denial of essential health care for transgender youth, replaced by a dangerous practice that every major U.S. medical and mental health association agree promotes anxiety, depression, and increased risk of suicidal thoughts and attempts.
“Like being gay or lesbian, being transgender is not a choice, and no amount of pressure can force someone to change who they are. We also know that 98% of people who receive transition-related health care continue to receive that health care throughout their lifetime. Trans health care is health care.”
“Today’s report seeks to erase decades of research and learning, replacing it with propaganda. The claims in today’s report would rip health care away from kids and take decision-making out of the hands of parents,” said Shannon Minter, legal director of NCLR. “It promotes the same kind of conversion therapy long used to shame LGBTQ+ people into hating themselves for being unable to change something they can’t change.”
“Like being gay or lesbian, being transgender is not a choice—it’s rooted in biology and genetics,” Minter said. “No amount or talk or pressure will change that.”
Human Rights Campaign Chief of Staff Jay Brown released a statement: “Trans people are who we are. We’re born this way. And we deserve to live our best lives and have a fair shot and equal opportunity at living a good life.
“This report misrepresents the science that has led all mainstream American medical and mental health professionals to declare healthcare for transgender youth to be best practice and instead follows a script predetermined not by experts but by Sec. Kennedy and anti-equality politicians.”
The White House
Trump nominates Mike Waltz to become next UN ambassador
Former Fla. congressman had been national security advisor
President Donald Trump on Thursday announced he will nominate Mike Waltz to become the next U.S. ambassador to the U.N.
Waltz, a former Florida congressman, had been the national security advisor.
Trump announced the nomination amid reports that Waltz and his deputy, Alex Wong, were going to leave the administration after Waltz in March added a journalist to a Signal chat in which he, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and other officials discussed plans to attack Houthi rebels in Yemen.
“I am pleased to announce that I will be nominating Mike Waltz to be the next United States ambassador to the United Nations,” said Trump in a Truth Social post that announced Waltz’s nomination. “From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our nation’s Interests first. I know he will do the same in his new role.”
Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as interim national security advisor, “while continuing his strong leadership at the State Department.”
“Together, we will continue to fight tirelessly to make America, and the world, safe again,” said Trump.
Trump shortly after his election nominated U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) to become the next U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Trump in March withdrew her nomination in order to ensure Republicans maintained their narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.
U.S. Federal Courts
Second federal lawsuit filed against White House passport policy
Two of seven plaintiffs live in Md.
Lambda Legal on April 25 filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of seven transgender and nonbinary people who are challenging the Trump-Vance administration’s passport policy.
The lawsuit, which Lambda Legal filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in Baltimore, alleges the policy that bans the State Department from issuing passports with “X” gender markers “has caused and is causing grave and immediate harm to transgender people like plaintiffs, in violation of their constitutional rights to equal protection.”
Two of the seven plaintiffs — Jill Tran and Peter Poe — live in Maryland. The State Department, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and the federal government are defendants.
“The discriminatory passport policy exposes transgender U.S. citizens to harassment, abuse, and discrimination, in some cases endangering them abroad or preventing them from traveling, by forcing them to use identification documents that share private information against their wishes,” said Lambda Legal in a press release.
Zander Schlacter, a New York-based textile artist and designer, is the lead plaintiff.
The lawsuit notes he legally changed his name and gender in New York.
Schlacter less than a week before President Donald Trump’s inauguration “sent an expedited application to update his legal name on his passport, using form DS-5504.”
Trump once he took office signed an executive order that banned the State Department from issuing passports with “X” gender markers. The lawsuit notes Schlacter received his new passport in February.
“The passport has his correct legal name, but now has an incorrect sex marker of ‘F’ or ‘female,'” notes the lawsuit. “Mr. Schlacter also received a letter from the State Department notifying him that ‘the date of birth, place of birth, name, or sex was corrected on your passport application,’ with ‘sex’ circled in red. The stated reason was ‘to correct your information to show your biological sex at birth.'”
“I, like many transgender people, experience fear of harassment or violence when moving through public spaces, especially where a photo ID is required,” said Schlacter in the press release that announced the lawsuit. “My safety is further at risk because of my inaccurate passport. I am unwilling to subject myself and my family to the threat of harassment and discrimination at the hands of border officials or anyone who views my passport.”
Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken in June 2021 announced the State Department would begin to issue gender-neutral passports and documents for American citizens who were born overseas.
Dana Zzyym, an intersex U.S. Navy veteran who identifies as nonbinary, in 2015 filed a federal lawsuit against the State Department after it denied their application for a passport with an “X” gender marker. Zzyym in October 2021 received the first gender-neutral American passport.
Lambda Legal represented Zzyym.
The State Department policy took effect on April 11, 2022.
Trump signed his executive order shortly after he took office in January. Germany, Denmark, Finland, and the Netherlands are among the countries that have issued travel advisories for trans and nonbinary people who plan to visit the U.S.
A federal judge in Boston earlier this month issued a preliminary injunction against the executive order. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit on behalf of seven trans and nonbinary people.
PDAB: A mysterious acronym that could affect your health
I make more money than my partner and getting resentful
D.C. liquor board extends drinking hours for WorldPride
PHOTOS: Victory Fund National Champagne Brunch
Executive director of LGBTQ Catholic group to travel to Rome for conclave
TRAITOR: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has blood on his hands
Potential Pope Francis successor views homosexuality as an ‘abomination’
Jacob Elordi rides high in ‘On Swift Horses’
Liberal Party wins Canadian election
