Graham Platner, the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate who is trying to unseat Maine’s longtime Senator Susan Collins (R), recently said that Republicans have attacked transgender rights as part of an “invented culture-war scare” to distract from economic issues (namely, taxing billionaires). A similar point was recently made by state Rep. and U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico (D-TX).

Platner – who has had several of his own scandals – made his comments last week while speaking to Slate’s Death, Sex, and Money podcast. The podcast hosts mentioned how Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) refused to comply with President Donald Trump’s demand that Maine ban all trans female athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports.

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Subsequently, Illinois-based conservative billionaire Richard Uihlein donated $800,000 to a state ballot initiative to enact Trump’s ban. EqualityMaine, GLAD Law and the Maine Women’s Lobby called Uihlein’s effort a “cynical attempt by one of the richest people in the world to manipulate voters” and said the initiative would “increase bullying and harassment and cost local schools millions of dollars for construction and litigation.”

In the podcast, Platner said, “The anti-trans campaign in Maine [is] funded by an out-of-state billionaire to make sure that we have this discussion and we don’t talk about raising his taxes.”

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“I think there are, like, two trans kids that compete in high school sports in Maine,” Platner continued. “There are 40,000 Mainers who are going to lose health care because of the lack of the Affordable Care Act extension. One of those things seems very important and real to me. One of them seems like an invented culture-war scare to keep people divided.”

Platner added that, as a high school wrestler, he had competed against cisgender female opponents, and said, “There was no uproar… I’m sorry – I cannot take it seriously.”

Talarico made similar comments in a March 9 MS NOW interview in which he said that, since winning Texas’ Democratic Senate primary, national media interviewers have not asked him about the cost of housing or prescription drugs, adding, “The only thing the media wants to ask me about are trans athletes.”

“The only minority destroying this country is the billionaires,” Talarico said. Trans people are 1% of the population. Undocumented people are 1% of the population. Muslims are 1% of the population. We are all focused on the wrong 1%. Trans people aren’t taking away our healthcare. Undocumented people aren’t defunding our schools. Muslims aren’t cutting taxes for themselves and their rich friends – it’s the billionaires and their puppet politicians. And so we need, not only the media but all of us, need to focus on the real problem at hand.”

Talarico and Platner’s responses mark a departure from Democratic politicians who voiced support for trans sports bans in the face of Republican anti-trans attacks during the 2024 election campaign. During that campaign, Republicans spent at least $215 million on anti-trans attack ads, including accusing Democrats of supporting “boys competing against girls,” a crude reference to the issue.

Republicans have largely framed the issue as one of the inherent fairness of sports competition (even though studies suggest that trans athletes have no inherent advantages over cis competitors, and may even have comparable disadvantages) and of protecting the safety and dignity of women’s spaces (furthering transphobic tropes that vilify trans people as a threat to women and girls).

During the 2024 election season, failed Democratic Senate candidate Colin Allred’s opponent, incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), hammered Allred on trans rights. In response, Allred went on defense, issuing an ad that said in part, “Let me be clear: I don’t want boys playing girls’ sports or any of this ridiculous stuff that Ted Cruz is saying.”

Trans journalist Erin Reed called Allred’s response “ill-advised.” Cruz ended up beating him by nearly 10 points.

Shortly after Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ loss to Trump, two House Democrats, Reps. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) and Seth Moulton (D-MA), also voiced support for anti-trans sports bans, even though both had previously opposed anti-trans legislation and supported legislation to protect trans rights.

Similarly, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) recently said that he supports trans equality in everything but sports. The prospective 2028 Democratic presidential candidate has previously signed many pieces of pro-trans legislation.

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