Education

Transgender students in school sports

62 public statements from 2026 candidates · 5 related bills

§1The range of views

Why this matters: These rules decide which teams some students can join, and they involve questions of fairness, safety and inclusion that people weigh differently.

Drafted by AI, then checked for neutral wording in a separate AI review. It describes the question and the main positions, not any candidate's view. Facts link to their sources.

Whether transgender students can play on school and college sports teams that match their gender identity; in 2026 the Supreme Court ruled that states and schools may limit girls' and women's teams based on sex at birth, as 27 states have done by law.1

  1. Require teams based on sex at birth
  2. Let each state decide
  3. Let schools or sports organizations set rules case by case
  4. Teams based on gender identity

These options describe policies, not people. The order is not a ranking.

§2What candidates have said

Why this matters: Statements candidates made publicly, summarized in plain words with a link to where they said it. Candidates who haven't spoken publicly on this issue aren't listed.

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

Require teams based on sex at birth (39)

  • Treg Taylor AK Governor
    His campaign website says he filed U.S. Supreme Court briefs defending the right of biological women to fair competition in sports.2
  • Barry Moore AL Senate
    His campaign website says people born male should not compete in women's sports, says he supported the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025, and says he would work to withhold federal funding from those who allow it.3
  • Jerry Carl AL-1
    His campaign website says people born male should be kept out of women's sports and says he has led efforts to protect women's sports.4
  • Tommy Tuberville AL Governor
    His campaign website says allowing people born male to compete in women's sports is wrong.5
  • Robb Tucker CA-3
    His campaign website says he supports the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, saying it would ensure fairness in women's and girls' athletics and protect sex-based privacy in schools.6
  • Jeff Frese CA-10
    His campaign website says people born male should be kept off girls' sports teams.7
  • Sam Gallucci CA-26
    His campaign website says federal funding should be used against groups that allow athletes born male to compete in women's events.8
  • Stephanie M. Vargas CA-33
    Her campaign website says rules must be kept that reserve girls' sports for athletes born female.9
  • Mike Cargile CA-35
    His campaign website says he opposes allowing boys to compete in girls' sports.10
  • Pedro Antonio Casas CA-38
    His campaign website says athletes born male should compete only against other males and should be kept out of women's and girls' sports.11,12,13
  • Young Kim CA-40
    Her campaign website says athletes born male should not compete in girls' sports.14
  • Christopher Lancia CT-3
    His campaign website says people born male should not compete in women's sports or use girls' locker rooms.15
  • Michael "Dr. Mike" Katz DE Senate
    His campaign website says he supports legislation defining eligibility for women's sports by biological sex where federal law applies.16
  • Austin Rogers FL-2
    His campaign website says people born male should not take part in women's sports.17
  • Joe Strada FL-11
    His campaign website says people born male should be kept out of women's sports to protect fairness for girls and women.18
  • Michael J. Quirk FL-17
    His campaign website says women's sports should remain for biological women.19
  • Houston Gaines GA-10
    His campaign website says he voted in Georgia to stop people born male from competing in women’s sports.20
  • Rick Jackson GA Governor
    His campaign website says boys should not compete in girls' sports or use girls' bathrooms or locker rooms.21
  • Joe Mitchell IA-2
    His campaign website says he believes there are two genders, male and female, and that women and girls deserve a level playing field in sports without competitors who were born male.22
  • Pro-Life ID Governor
    His campaign website says transgender girls should never compete in girls' athletics.23
  • Whitfield Harrington Jr IL Senate
    His campaign website says women's sports should be reserved for biological females.24
  • Barb Regnitz IN-1
    Her campaign website says she wants to keep girls' sports and facilities reserved for biological females.25
  • Andy Barr KY Senate
    His campaign website says he is leading the Defend Girls' Athletics Act, which would cut off federal funding to schools and colleges that let athletes born male play on girls' teams, and says girls' sports, locker rooms and bathrooms should be limited to those born female.26
  • Julia Letlow LA Senate
    Her campaign website says she would keep athletes born male out of women's sports and write protections for women's athletics into Title IX.27
  • Gordon Heslop LA-4
    His campaign website lists no boys in girls sports among its goals.28
  • Blake Miguez LA-6
    His campaign website lists among his accomplishments helping lead the effort to keep men out of women's sports and says he will carry the same fight to Washington.29,30
  • Robert B. Charles ME Governor
    His No Nonsense plan says he would drop the state's Title IX lawsuit, which it says aims to let athletes born male play in girls' sports.31
  • John James MI Governor
    His campaign website says athletes born male should compete only with and against other athletes born male, with limited exceptions such as some co-ed and prepubescent recreational leagues.32
  • Michele Tafoya MN Senate
    Her campaign website says she would work to keep people born male out of women's sports and locker rooms.33
  • Pete Ricketts NE Senate
    His campaign website says he voted to bar people born male from competing in women's sports.34
  • Jim Pillen NE Governor
    His campaign website says he backs the Stand with Women Act and would keep people born male off girls' sports teams.35,36
  • David Flippo NV-2
    His campaign website says he would ban males from girls' and women's sports.37
  • Bruce A. Blakeman NY Governor
    His campaign website says that as county executive he acted to keep athletes born male out of girls' sports.38
  • Kevin Hern OK Senate
    His campaign website says he cosponsored the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025, which would bar federal funding for schools that let athletes born male compete on women's or girls' teams.39
  • Stacy Garrity PA Governor
    Her campaign website says allowing athletes born male to compete in girls' sports is unfair and unsafe, and that she would end it.40
  • Michael Anthony Bahry RI Senate
    His campaign website says athletes born male should not compete in women's or girls' sports, citing the purpose of Title IX.41
  • Marsha Blackburn TN Governor
    Her campaign website says students born male should not use girls' locker rooms or play on girls' sports teams, and that as governor she will make sure girls' sports are protected.42
  • David Hatley TN Governor
    His campaign website says women's sports teams and locker rooms should be for women and that athletes born male should not compete in women's categories.43
  • Ken Paxton TX Senate
    His campaign website says he opposes letting athletes who were born male compete in girls' sports.44

Let each state decide (2)

  • Steve G. Parsons AR-1
    His campaign website says rules on transgender athletes in sports should be set by the states, not the federal government.45
  • Mark Cohen NE-3
    His campaign website says state and local governments should have the authority to set rules on transgender athletes in women's sports, and that he would support that authority in Congress.46

Let schools or sports organizations set rules case by case (1)

  • Ro Khanna CA-17
    His campaign website says local and state athletic leagues should set fairness standards sport by sport, prioritizing inclusion while weighing safety.47

Teams based on gender identity (1)

  • Connie Chan CA-11
    Her campaign website says she supports transgender students' right to play on sports teams that match their gender identity.48

Statements that don't match one option (19)

  • Greg Steube FL-17
    His campaign website says he wrote the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, and that the House has passed it twice, most recently in January 2025.49
  • David Jolly FL Governor
    His campaign website says he does not think biological men belong in competitive women's sports in high school, college or scholarship competition and does not intend to change Florida's current law, while saying the governor need not regulate sports leagues and parents should be free to allow co-ed neighborhood youth leagues.50
  • James "Jim" Kingston GA-1
    His campaign website says he supports the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act and state and local laws that prevent schools from being punished for protecting female athletes, which it describes as a matter of biological reality.51
  • Maura Keller GA-3
    Her campaign website says she sees debates about transgender people, including over high school sports, as a distraction from issues like inflation, job losses and health care cuts, and says high school sports do not need to be political.52
  • Brad Little ID Governor
    His campaign website lists defending women's sports among the ways he has defended Idaho values.53
  • Lupe Castillo IL-4
    Her campaign website says she will protect women's sports and women's privacy in bathrooms.54,55
  • Jeff Wilson IL-13
    His campaign website says he will protect the integrity of girls' and boys' sports.56
  • Maria Teresa Rodriguez KY-3
    Her campaign website's Where I Stand card says she will fight to keep women's sports fair and protect opportunities for female athletes.57
  • Morgan McGarvey KY-3
    His campaign website lists a Kentucky law barring transgender children from school sports among what it calls a wave of anti-LGBTQ discrimination by state governments.58
  • Ann Wagner MO-2
    Her campaign website says she will work to keep men out of women's sports so that girls and young women can compete safely and win scholarships.59
  • Bob Onder MO-3
    His campaign website says that after leaving the Missouri Senate he led citizen groups in a campaign that helped pass a law to protect women's sports.60
  • Michael D Eisenhauer MT-2
    His Why Independent page lists fighting against biological males in women's sports among actions of President Trump that he clearly supports.61
  • Steven Feldman NC-10
    His campaign website says rules about which teams transgender girls join in sports matter far less than the federal debt and should not distract from it.62
  • Pat Harrigan NC-10
    His campaign website lists defending women's sports among the conservative values he works to uphold.63
  • Helene Neville ND-AL
    Her campaign website says she backs rules that keep women's competitive sports fair and safe while respecting every athlete, and that sports governing bodies should write evidence-based policies that weigh inclusion, fairness and safety.64
  • Anthony DiLorenzo NH-1
    His campaign website lists protecting women's sports and locker rooms among his priorities.65
  • Lily Tang Williams NH-2
    Her campaign website says allowing biological males to compete against biological females threatens girls' sports.66
  • Darline Graham SC Senate
    Her campaign website says she will protect girls' sports and locker rooms.67
  • Tom Tiffany WI Governor
    His campaign website says he would sign legislation to protect girls' sports, bathrooms and locker rooms in schools, which it describes as protecting privacy and fairness for girls.68

§3Related bills

Why this matters: Bills from 2023–2026 that bear on this issue, with how Congress handled them.