A CNN fact-check of GOP ads in competitive Senate races across four states found that attacks accusing Democrats of supporting gender surgeries for minors rely on misleading claims.
In Ohio, Senate Leadership Fund spots targeting Sherrod Brown feature Soren Aldaco, who claims she regrets her transition. She says Brown backs surgery on children, then says her treatment came without her parents' consent and that she "was a kid." Aldaco has said, however, that her double mastectomy took place when she was 19, an age at which no parental consent is needed, at a clinic in Texas. CNN said the ads create the false impression that the operation occurred when she was a minor. The group points out that she was first given hormones at 17.
Ohio has outlawed the procedures for minors since 2024. Brown's own response ad calls the attacks a "complete lie," CNN's Daniel Dale noted in his fact-check.
In Texas, ads say James Talarico backed taxpayer-funded surgeries for kids because he opposed a 2023 bill banning surgeries along with hormones and puberty blockers. They leave out that he supported amendments that later failed and would have narrowed the bill to surgeries only. Talarico says he opposes surgeries for minors but called the bill "overly broad."
In Iowa, an ad backed by tech tycoon Elon Musk says Josh Turek voted to fund surgeries for children, pointing to a 2025 vote on a large health package. Iowa already barred the care for minors in 2023, and Turek's remarks before the vote were about disability and elder-care funding.
In South Carolina, an ad claims Annie Andrews supports surgeries for minors. She has said repeatedly she opposes them, though she supports other gender care for youth. The ad uses a fabricated newspaper clipping with nonsense text.
CNN added that available data suggest very few transgender people have surgery as minors, and most of those are chest procedures for teens aged 15 to 17.
