The Kansas Democrat who cast a decisive vote that banned transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports teams has lost reelection.
Rep. Marvin Robinson, a Kansas City, Kansas, Democrat, joined Republicans in 2023 to overturn the governor’s veto of the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act.
The law requires athletes in high schools and public colleges to play sports based on the gender they were assigned at birth. Republicans have a veto-proof majority in the House and Senate, but multiple similar bans had failed before.
Robinson didn’t tell reporters why he made his decision after the vote.
While controversial, it wasn’t clear that siding with Republicans would cost Robinson his seat. Michelle Watley, one of the candidates who ran to replace Robinson, told The Beacon before the election that partisan politics were not top-of-mind for voters in the district.
Candidates said the Kansas House district needs grocery stores to combat food deserts, sidewalk improvement and property tax relief.
Wanda Paige, a Kansas City, Kansas, school board member since 2018, won the primary with 49% of the vote. There is no general election opponent, so Paige will take Robinson’s seat.
Paige said transgender athletes didn’t come up when she was knocking doors. Education, Medicaid and taxes were the top issues.
She said there are so few transgender athletes that a ban wasn’t necessary.
Robinson’s defeat does have consequences for the upcoming legislative session. Laws regulating transgender Kansans continue to get voted on each session.
Kansas Republicans fell a handful of votes short of banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors earlier this year. Robinson voted for the ban.
Paige didn’t say whether she’d voted against a ban on gender-affirming care, but she did say the state needs to do right by children.
“I want to vote to do the right thing,” she said. “Hear all the information, and let’s go and try to do what’s right for all of our kids.”
Transgender children have higher rates of suicide, and Paige said the Legislature should work together to protect children.
Outgoing Rep. Susan Concannon, a Beloit Republican, switched her vote in support of transgender Kansans. She is retiring after this session and her replacement — Dawn Wolf — has already said she would vote to ban gender-affirming care for minors.
The ban on gender-affirming care for minors failed because other Republicans voted against it.
Rep. David Younger, a Ulysses Republican who opposed the ban, stepped down after moving out of the district. He will be replaced by a candidate who has voted for restrictions on transgender Kansans in the past.
Whether Republicans muster enough support to ban gender-affirming care won’t be obvious until the vote solely from the outcome of the November general election. Democrats hope to break the Republicans’ veto-proof majority in November, which would further complicate any potential ban.
This story was originally published by The Beacon, a fellow member of the KC Media Collective.
