The Minnesota Democrat has been critical of other members of his party who are retreating at a time when the issue has become a political lightning rod nationally and in Minnesota.
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Gov. Tim Walz backs transgender kids as Democrats grapple with debate over bans in sports
The Minnesota Democrat has been critical of other members of his party who are retreating at a time when the issue has become a political lightning rod nationally and in Minnesota.
WASHINGTON - Months after California Gov. Gavin Newsom told a conservative podcast it’s
“deeply unfair” for transgender athletes to compete in women and girls sports, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz took the stage at the Democratic Party’s annual state convention in Newsom’s home state to let his party know he disagrees.
“I’m just going to say it, shame on any of us who throws a trans child under the bus for thinking they’re going to get elected,” the 2024 vice presidential nominee said last Saturday. “That child deserves our support. Don’t worry about the pollsters calling it distractions, because we need to be the party of human dignity.”
Walz is doubling down on trans rights — and criticizing members of his party who are retreating — at a time when the issue has become a lightning rod nationally and at home.
Attorney General Keith Ellison, a fellow Democrat, and other state officials are being sued by three Maple Grove and Farmington high school softball players in an effort to remove trans athletes from competing in their sport.
In Washington, the Republican-controlled U.S. House passed the
Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act at the start of the year, which Minnesota’s four Republicans supported and the state’s four Democrats opposed. Democrats stuck together to prevent a similar bill from advancing in the U.S. Senate, with Sens. Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar opposed.
Walz did not specifically comment on the issues of transgender student athletes in his speech Saturday and his spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for clarification.
Minnesota Democrats are largely aligned with Walz on the issue, though not all have been so forceful.
“I understand that this is viewed by many in our community as a fairness issue,” said Rep. Angie Craig, a moderate Democrat and the first LGBTQ member of Congress to represent Minnesota. She’s running in a competitive race for the DFL nomination for the U.S. Senate in 2026.
“I believe that local sports associations and our local schools are best equipped to make these decisions.”
Klobuchar, a fellow moderate Democrat, cited her opposition to the bill in the Senate and said she, too, trusts “school districts, parents, and sports leagues to make decisions about their athletes.”
“I voted against a bill that would take that decision away from local school districts and jeopardize education funding for all students,” Klobuchar continued.
A New York Times-Ipsos
survey from early January found that 79% of Americans, including 67% of Democrats and 64% of independents, do not think transgender female athletes should be allowed to compete in women’s sports. A Pew Research Center survey from February found
66% of Americans favor, or strongly favor, laws and policies that “require trans athletes to compete on teams that match their sex assigned at birth.”
Newsom, a possible 2028 presidential candidate, has been one of the few Democrats to veer from his party on the issue, while Walz could be trying to appeal to the more progressive wing as he continues to mull his future, said University of Minnesota political science professor Larry Jacobs.
