Activists and political observers say the major Democratic victories on the East Coast last week prove anti-transgender attacks are no longer effective.

Democrats in Virginia, New Jersey, and New York who defended transgender rights directly — Abigail Spanberger, Mikie Sherrill, and Zohran Mamdani — won decisively, while Republicans who invested millions in anti-trans fearmongering were rejected by voters.

This contrasts sharply with the messaging coming out of the White House.

The Trump-Vance administration has pursued a hardline anti-trans agenda since taking office, from attempting to ban trans military members from serving to enforcing bathroom and sports bans. But this winning strategy may not be as solid for their voters as it once seemed.

The Washington Blade attended a post-election meeting hosted by the Human Rights Campaign, where LGBTQ advocates and political leaders reflected on the results and discussed how to build on the momentum heading into 2026 — as the Trump-Vance administration doubles down on its anti-trans agenda.

Among those on the call was U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.), the first openly trans person ever elected to Congress. Having run one of the nation’s most visible pro-trans campaigns, McBride said voters made their priorities clear.

“Voters made clear yesterday that they will reject campaigns built on hatred. They will reject campaigns that seek to divide us, and they will reject candidates that offer no solutions for the cost-of-living crisis this country is facing.”

McBride cited the Virginia governor’s race as a clear example of how a candidate can uplift trans people — specifically when their opponent is targeting kids — but also refocus the conversation on topics Americans truly care about: the economy, tariffs, mortgage rates, and the preservation of democracy.

“We saw millions of dollars in anti-trans attacks in Virginia, but we saw Governor-elect Spanberger respond. She defended her trans constituents, met voters with respect and grace, and ran a campaign that opened hearts and changed minds,” McBride said.

“That is the future of our politics. That is how we win — by combating misinformation, caricatures, fearmongering, and scapegoating.”

She added that the elections in Virginia, New Jersey, and New York offer a “blueprint” for how Democrats can effectively respond to GOP attacks and win “in the face of hatred.”

“When you dive into the data and you look in New Jersey, Virginia — you see the progress that pro-equality candidates have made in urban, suburban, and rural communities, among voters of every background and identity,” McBride said. “You see that we can compete everywhere … When we perform a politics that’s rooted in three concepts, we win.

“One is a politics of affordability — we prioritize the issues keeping voters up at night, the cost-of-living crisis. Two, we are curious, not judgmental — as candidates, we meet people where they are, hold true to our values, but extend grace so people can grow. And three, we root our politics in a sense of place.”

“All of these candidates were deeply committed to their districts, to their state, to their city,” she continued. “Voters responded because they were able to see a politics that transcended partisanship and ideology … about building community with one another, across our disagreements and our differences. When we as pro-equality candidates embody that type of politics — a politics of affordability, curiosity, and community — we win.”

Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson echoed McBride’s sentiment — once again moving away from the bogeyman Republicans have made trans children out to be and refocusing on politics that matter to people’s everyday lives.

“Anti-trans extremists poured millions into fearmongering, hoping cruelty could substitute for leadership — and once again, it failed,” Robinson said. “Fear can’t fill a prescription. Division doesn’t lower rent or put food on the table. Voters saw through the distraction.”

Robinson then detailed how much money Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the Republican who challenged Spanberger, spent on these ads — showing that even with money and a PAC standing behind her (like the Republican Governors Association’s Right Direction PAC, which gave her $9.5 million), success isn’t possible without a message that connects with constituents.

“In Virginia, Abigail Spanberger made history defeating Winsome Earle-Sears and more than $9 million of anti-trans attack ads. She didn’t flinch. She didn’t hide from her values. She led with them — and Virginians rewarded that courage.”

Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman went into further detail on how the Republican nominee for Virginia’s governor leaned into transphobia.

“Winsome Earle-Sears spent more than 60 percent of her paid media budget attacking transgender kids — an unprecedented amount — and it failed.”

Rahaman continued, saying the results send a message to the whole country, noting that only 3 percent of voters ranked trans issues as a top concern by the end of October.

“Virginia voters sent a resounding message that anti-trans fearmongering is not a winning strategy — not here in Virginia, and not anywhere else,” Rahaman said. “Candidates who met these attacks head-on with messages rooted in freedom, safety, and fairness saw overwhelming success. Attacking transgender youth is not a path to power. It is a moral dead end — and a political one too.”

Virginia state Del. Joshua Cole (D-Fredericksburg), who was also on the call, put it bluntly:

“Republicans have now become champions of campaigning on bullying kids — and we saw last night that that was a losing tactic.”

“Virginians came out en masse to say we believe in protecting our neighbors, protecting our friends — and standing up for everybody.”

That message rang true well beyond Virginia.

In New Jersey, Rep. Mikie Sherrill pushed back against GOP efforts to weaponize trans issues, telling voters, “When you really talk to people, they have empathy. They understand these are kids, these are families, and they deserve our support.”

And in New York, state Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani released a pre-election ad honoring trans liberation icon Sylvia Rivera, declaring, “New York will not sit idly by while trans people are attacked.”

President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a bill that reopens the federal government.

Six Democrats — U.S. Reps. Jared Golden (D-Maine), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.), Adam Gray (D-Calif.), Don Davis (D-N.C.), Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), and Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) — voted for the funding bill that passed in the U.S. House of Representatives. Two Republicans — Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Greg Steube (R-Fla.) — opposed it.

The 43-day shutdown is over after eight Democratic senators gave in to Republicans’ push to roll back parts of the Affordable Care Act. According to CNBC, the average ACA recipient could see premiums more than double in 2026, and about one in 10 enrollees could lose a premium tax credit altogether.

These eight senators — U.S. Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Angus King (I-Maine), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) — sided with Republicans to pass legislation reopening the government for a set number of days. They emphasized that their primary goal was to reopen the government, with discussions about ACA tax credits to continue afterward.

None of the senators who supported the deal are up for reelection.

King said on Sunday night that the Senate deal represents “a victory” because it gives Democrats “an opportunity” to extend ACA tax credits, now that Senate Republican leaders have agreed to hold a vote on the issue in December. (The House has not made any similar commitment.)

The government’s reopening also brought a win for Democrats’ other priorities: Arizona Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva was sworn in after a record-breaking delay in swearing in, eventually becoming the 218th signer of a discharge petition to release the Epstein files.

This story is being updated as more information becomes available.

Under the directive of its mayor and over strong objections from LGBTQ rights advocates and their supporters, the city of Salisbury, Md. on Nov. 11 removed a rainbow crosswalk from a prominent intersection across from the mayor’s office and the city’s public library. 

Salisbury LGBTQ rights advocate Mark DeLancey, who witnessed the crosswalk removal, said instead of painting over it as other cities have done in removing rainbow crosswalks, a powerful grinding machine was used to rip apart the asphalt pavement under the crosswalk in what he believes was an effort by the mayor to “make a point.”

Like officials in other locations that have removed rainbow crosswalks, Salisbury Mayor Randy Taylor said the crosswalk removal was required under U.S. Department of Transportation regulations put in place by the Trump administration that do not allow “political” messages on streets and roadways.

“Since taking office, I’ve been transparent about my concerns regarding the Pride crosswalks installed in Downtown Salisbury,” Taylor said in a statement. “While I have made every effort to respect the decisions of previous administrations and the folks that supported them, it has become clear that a course of correction – as planned – is necessary to align with current Department of Transportation standards for roadway markings,” he said in his Nov. 7 statement that was posted on the city’s Facebook page.

DeLancey is among the activists and local public officials in many cities and states that dispute that the federal Department of Transportation has legal authority to ban the Pride crosswalks. D.C. and the Northern Virginia jurisdictions of Arlington and Alexandria are among the localities that have refused to remove rainbow crosswalks from their streets.

“He decided to take this on himself,” DeLancey said of Taylor’s action. “It’s not a law. It’s not a ruling of any kind. He just said that was something that should happen.”

DeLancey points out that Salisbury became the first jurisdiction in Maryland to install a  rainbow crosswalk on a public street in September 2018.

“This is another blatant attempt by our Republican mayor to remove any references to groups that don’t fit with his agenda,” Salisbury LGBTQ advocate Megan Pomeroy told the local publication Watershed Observer. “The rainbow crosswalk represents acceptance for everyone. It tells them, ‘You matter. You are valued. You are welcome here,’” she was quoted as saying.

The publication Delmarva Now reports that a longtime Salisbury straight ally to the LGBTQ community named K.T. Tuminello staged a one-person protest on Nov. 10 by sitting on the sidewalk next to the rainbow crosswalk holding a sign opposing its removal.

“Tuminello said Nov. 10 he had been at the embattled crosswalk since 12 a.m. that morning, and only three things could make him leave: ‘I get arrested, I have to get into an ambulance because of my medical difficulties, or Randy Taylor says you can keep that one rainbow crosswalk,’” the Delaware Now article states.

DeLancey said he has known Tuminello for many years as an LGBTQ ally and saw him on the night he staged his sit-in at the site of the crosswalk. 

“I actually went to him last night trying to give him some water,” DeLancey told the Washington Blade. “He was on a hunger strike as well. He was there for a total of 40 hours on strike, not eating, no sleeping in the freezing cold” 

Added DeLancey, “He has been supporting our community for decades. And he is a very strong ally, and we love his contribution very much.”

Political observers have pointed out that Salisbury for many years has been a progressive small city surrounded by some of Maryland’s more conservative areas with mostly progressive elected officials.

They point out that Taylor, a Trump supporter, won election as mayor in November 2023 with 36.6 percent of the vote. Two progressive candidates split the vote among themselves, receiving a combined total of 70.8 percent of the vote.