Democratic candidates moderate stance on transgender issue in the Southeast
Andrews’s campaign ad sets out her positions on transgender athletes and gender surgery for minors.

SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYThe Washington Times is an established national outlet with a recognizable editorial operation and an attributed byline. Its institutional credibility is somewhat tempered by its opinionated brand, but this article uses named sources and attributes campaign claims.
- Source type — Established national news outlet; a strong baseline for editorial capacity.
- Editorial standards — The outlet has an established newsroom, though its broader brand is politically opinionated.
- Author attribution — The article identifies a reporter by name.
- Transparency — The article attributes campaign claims and identifies the survey source.
The article identifies the campaign ads and cites a Pew survey, while distinguishing the candidates’ claims from opponents’ attacks. It offers limited direct sourcing beyond the ads and survey, and does not include responses from Davis or Andrews to the criticism described.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The article presents statements from Democratic candidates and a Republican-aligned ad criticizing Davis, along with survey data. It does not include a response to the attack’s allegations, and the framing focuses on electoral pressures rather than a fuller examination of the policy arguments.
- Counterarguments presented — The opposing ad’s claims appear alongside Davis’s position, but no response to those claims is included.
- Source diversity — Candidates’ ads, a Republican-aligned PAC ad, and a Pew survey provide several perspectives, though sources are limited.
- Omitted context — The article does not provide responses from Davis or Andrews to the attacks or further policy context.
- Loaded language — Charged phrases are attributed to campaign ads rather than adopted in the reporter’s voice.
The report is mostly matter-of-fact but gives substantial space to Republican criticism of Democrats’ positions and to evidence suggesting those positions may be electorally unpopular. The candidates’ own explanations are present, though responses to the attack ad are not.
- Language tone — The narrative is largely straightforward and attributes charged language to the ads or speakers.
- Framing — The story frames Democratic candidates’ stances as electoral moderation in conservative states.
- Source selection — It includes candidates’ ad statements, Republican-aligned criticism, and a public-opinion survey, but no direct response to the accusations.
- Headline — The headline emphasizes Democrats moderating their stance, consistent with the article’s electoral framing.
Democratic candidates Donald Davis and Annie Andrews are using campaign ads to distance themselves from transgender policies they expect to be unpopular in their conservative states. Davis’s Republican challenger’s aligned PAC accuses him of backing policies that conflict with his ad’s message.
Donald Davis, a North Carolina Democrat running in a district redrawn to favor Republicans, says in a new ad that states should decide rules for girls’ sports and that North Carolina has acted. A Congressional Leadership Fund ad aligned with Speaker Mike Johnson accuses Davis of lying, citing his sponsorship of the Equality Act and his decision not to vote on the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. The article also reports that a Pew survey found nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults uncomfortable with transgender athletes competing on teams that do not match their sex at birth.
South Carolina Senate candidate Annie Andrews says in an ad that she opposes transgender women playing women’s sports and says she has not performed gender surgery on minors. The article describes her ad as an effort to address the issue in a state that strongly favored President Trump in 2024, and notes that Trump recently attacked her on social media. It contrasts these campaign positions with California candidate Scott Wiener’s support for LGBTQ-affirming healthcare and the Equality Act.
Community verdict
10 VOTES- Readers of left-leaning coverage: not enough votes yet
- Readers of right-leaning coverage: 50% good look
People in this story
SWIPE →Democratic Senate candidate in South Carolina using an ad to state her position on transgender policies
North Carolina representative and Democratic candidate featured in a campaign ad about transgender policies
Davis's version of this story ↗Speaker of the House, whose aligned PAC ran an ad criticizing Davis
President who recently criticized Andrews on social media
Republican candidate challenging Davis
Republican senator opposing Andrews in South Carolina
Representative whose seat Wiener is seeking
Former Democratic presidential nominee referenced in a 2024 campaign-ad example
California state senator and House candidate whose platform supports LGBTQ-affirming healthcare and the Equality Act
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