In new ad, South Carolina Democrat responds to anti-transgender attacks echoed by Trump

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Annie Andrews, the Democratic nominee in the increasingly competitive race for Senate in South Carolina, is pushing back in a new TV ad after President Donald Trump disparaged her with an anti-transgender slur.

In the 30-second spot, Andrews speaks to the camera, wearing a white lab coat with a stethoscope over her shoulder, and says she has always been committed to protecting children as a pediatrician and mother of three.

“So I want you to hear me loud and clear: I don’t support biological men playing women’s sports and I don’t support — and haven’t ever performed — gender surgery for minors,” Andrews says.

The commercial comes three days after Trump dubbed the Democrat “Annie ‘Trannie’ Andrews” in a social media post. Trump supports her Republican opponent, Sen. Darline Graham, who was appointed to the seat this summer after the death of her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham.

While South Carolina is a solidly Republican state, the Senate race has drawn more GOP attention in recent days as they confront a tough midterm environment nationally. The top Republican super PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, recently decided to invest $5 million in the contest.

Even before Trump used the anti-transgender slur against Andrews, Graham and her allies had been aggressively attacking Andrews on issues related to transgender people. One TV ad from a pro-Graham super PAC depicts a transgender person ominously approaching a young girl in a grocery store aisle and saying Andrews “has my vote.”

Republicans have pointed out that Andrews voiced opposition in 2022 to South Carolina’s law banning transgender athletes from playing on girls’ and women’s sports teams at public schools. In an X post , she called the law “shameful” and promised to “always support trans youth.”

“Annie Andrews is bad medicine for South Carolina,” Graham campaign spokesperson T.W. Arrighi said in a statement responding to the Andrews ad. “She is openly lying about her record.”

Andrews is part of a crop of Democratic candidates in the midterms who are pushing back more forcefully against the GOP’s anti-transgender attacks after seeing how they hobbled Vice President Kamala Harris in the last presidential election.

Andrews and Graham are set to meet for their first — and potentially only — debate on Sunday.

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在竞争日益激烈的南卡罗来纳州参议院选举中，民主党候选人安妮·安德鲁斯在一则新的电视广告中予以反击，此前唐纳德·特朗普总统发表了反跨性别者的侮辱性言论。

在这段 30 秒的广告中，安德鲁斯身穿白色实验服，肩上挎着听诊器，对着镜头说，作为一名儿科医生和三个孩子的母亲，她一直致力于保护儿童。

“所以我想让你们清楚地听到我的话：我不支持生理男性参加女子运动，我也不支持——而且从来没有为未成年人进行过——变性手术，”安德鲁斯说。

这则广告发布三天前，特朗普在社交媒体上发帖，称民主党候选人安妮·“变性人”·安德鲁斯为“安妮·安德鲁斯”。特朗普支持她的共和党对手、参议员达琳·格雷厄姆，后者在今年夏天其兄长、参议员林赛·格雷厄姆去世后被任命接替该席位。

尽管南卡罗来纳州是共和党的传统票仓，但近来随着全国中期选举形势严峻，该州的参议员竞选也吸引了更多共和党人的关注。共和党最大的超级政治行动委员会——参议院领导基金——近日决定向这场竞选投入500万美元。

甚至在特朗普对安德鲁斯使用反跨性别歧视言论之前，格雷厄姆及其盟友就已在与跨性别者相关的问题上对安德鲁斯展开猛烈攻击。一个支持格雷厄姆的超级政治行动委员会制作的一则电视广告中，一名跨性别者在超市过道里阴森森地接近一个年轻女孩，并说安德鲁斯“得到了我的选票”。

共和党人指出，安德鲁斯曾在2022年公开反对南卡罗来纳州禁止跨性别运动员参加公立学校女子运动队的法律。她在X论坛上发帖称该法律“可耻”，并承诺“永远支持跨性别青少年”。

格雷厄姆竞选发言人TW Arrighi在一份回应安德鲁斯竞选广告的声明中表示：“安妮·安德鲁斯对南卡罗来纳州来说是个祸害。她公然谎报自己的政绩。”

安德鲁斯是中期选举中一批民主党候选人中的一员，他们目睹了共和党的反跨性别攻击如何在上届总统选举中削弱了副总统卡马拉·哈里斯的选情，因此更加有力地反击了共和党的反跨性别攻击。

安德鲁斯和格雷厄姆将于周日进行他们的首次——也可能是唯一一次——辩论。