GOP spends estimated $183 million on anti-transgender ads in midterms' final stretch

Republicans have spent an estimated $183 million on television ads focused on transgender-related attacks against Democrats in the final phase of this year's midterm elections, according to tallies provided to The Associated Press by data firm AdImpact ¹. The spending through Oct. 25 produced about 217,000 TV spots nationwide ¹.

That exceeds what Republicans spent on similar ads in 2024, a presidential election year, at the same point before Election Day: $151 million ¹. Democrats have spent roughly $11 million on transgender-related ads, largely to defend themselves from the attacks ¹.

The investment is a test of whether a theme that had worked in past elections, especially in deep red states, can still be potent when voters consistently say high prices are their chief concern ¹. Only about 1 in 10 registered voters say transgender issues are "one of the most important issues" in the election, according to an AP-NORC poll from October, well below the roughly 8 in 10 who mentioned the economy or the cost of living ¹.

President Donald Trump has played down surging gasoline prices and other rising costs while highlighting what he described as an urgent threat to America's children from Democratic policies ¹. Barely five minutes into his speech during Monday night's rally in Corinth, Mississippi, Trump said that Democrats "promote the transgender mutilization of your children" ¹. During his Sunday rally in Florida, Trump said "men in women's sports" four times and gender "mutilization" another four times ¹.

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Where the money is going

Texas' high-stakes Senate contest alone has consumed the largest share of Republican-backed transgender-related spending, drawing an estimated $58 million for more than 50,000 airings, according to AdImpact ¹. The GOP is also investing heavily in related attacks against Democrats in Ohio, Kansas, South Carolina, Iowa and Mississippi, according to an AP analysis of the data ¹.

Texas PAC, the Republican super PAC largely funded by Elon Musk and supporting Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, has at least three separate TV ads hammering Democrat James Talarico on trans issues ¹. One accuses Talarico of supporting taxpayer funding of minors' sex-reassignment surgery, charging that he's "for they them, not you" ¹. Another claims Talarico supports taxpayer funding of gender reassignment surgery for minors, while a third accuses him of backing child abuse ¹.

The issue resonates with some voters. Jerry Casner, a 74-year-old registered Republican and three-time Trump voter who lives in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, retired from a nearby Army depot and works 12 hours a week at a grocery store in New Cumberland ¹. Asked what national issues are important to him, Casner said: "If you can't even determine the difference between a man and a woman, but yet you're going to make life and death decisions for me, oh, I don't think so. That's disgusting." ¹ He said he plans on voting Republican up and down the ballot ¹.

That matters because the ad campaign is running alongside a closing argument about affordability, and the two messages are aimed at different concerns. The pattern is a party spending heavily on a cultural theme while its own candidates face questions about prices and President Trump's leadership ¹.

What happens next: the spending is concentrated in races from Texas to Iowa and Mississippi, and how the bet pays off will show there ¹.

The Record

1. Oct 25, 2026Republican transgender-themed TV spending reaches an estimated $183 million across about 217,000 spots, AdImpact tallies show ¹.
2. Oct 25, 2026Democratic spending on transgender-related ads stands at roughly $11 million, largely for defense ¹.
3. Oct 26, 2026At a Florida rally, Trump says "men in women's sports" four times and gender "mutilization" another four times ¹.
4. Oct 27, 2026At a rally in Corinth, Mississippi, Trump says Democrats "promote the transgender mutilization of your children" ¹.

Sources

1. ABC News, “Republicans emphasize transgender ads, putting cultural issues over economy” (2026-10-28). abcnews.com/Politics/wireStory/republicans-emphasize-transge
2. KSAT, “Republicans emphasize transgender ads, putting cultural issues over voters' economic anxiety” (2026-10-28). ksat.com/gallery/news/2026/10/28/republicans-emphasize-trans

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