Businessperson Chris Miller is competing in the GOP primary for governor of West Virginia next month, and his campaign has one clear message: he simply dislikes transgender children.
His recent advertisements have focused on pledging to reverse the rights of transgender students, distorting information about gender-affirming care to make it sound more frightening, and accusing his opponents of endorsing gender-affirming surgery on minors, something that is almost never conducted on minors.
One advertisement released by Miller’s campaign earlier this month accused one of his primary opponents, state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (R), of advocating for a “woke hospital” that sought federal funds for “sex changes for minors.”
“His pronoun? Money-grubbing liberal,” the voiceover stated, accusing Morrisey of “mutilating kids for cash.” Gender-affirming care for minors generally involves supporting their gender expression and possibly undergoing puberty blockers and other reversible hormonal treatments. Presenting this type of healthcare – which is endorsed by major medical associations in the U.S. as the standard of care for trans youth – as “mutilation” is a common transphobic tactic.
“The Pat transitioned from lobbyist to politician, masquerading as one of us,” the voiceover says. “But the real Pat Morrisey is a pro-trans liberal.” The advertisement then features a picture of Julia Sweeney’s early-90s SNL character “It’s Pat.”
A video Miller posted to social media shows him in a locker room stating that because he is the father of a girl, he opposes allowing transgender girls to use the locker room associated with their gender.
“If we expect our kids to tell the truth, we can’t let the woke left redefine it,” he said, implying that trans people are lying about their identities, another common negative stereotype. In reality, trans people will sometimes pretend to be cisgender to avoid discrimination, and it’s when they live their lives authentically and express their gender identities that they are being truthful with others.
Another advertisement he posted to social media shows a girl recounting that she had to take a dance class with a transgender girl as dramatic piano music plays in the background. She said that Morrisey refused to remove the trans girl from the dance class locker room, and her mother says it’s because Morrisey was a lobbyist for “this transgender clinic in New York, giving children gender transition medication.”
Morrisey “is not a strong man. We need a strong man with a strong voice,” the mother insists.
“The trans shouldn’t get more rights than what our kids have,” a woman in another Miller advertisement says. She is in the video with another woman who says that Morrisey “turned us away” when they tried to talk to him about transgender people existing.
LGBTQ+ individuals in the state condemned Miller’s campaign for demonizing transgender youth.
“I think it is exploitative to children,” out Wheeling city council member Rosemary Ketchum told West Virginia Public Broadcasting told West Virginia Public Broadcasting. “Ultimately, those ads are not for West Virginians, those ads are for funders. It is a very popular and successful fundraising strategy to attack marginalized communities. And they’re looking to pull money from California and Florida and other states to fund their elections here in West Virginia.”
They are discussing our children, and they are displaying them on TV to make them look foolish.
Billy Wolfe of the West Virginia ACLU, who organizes the Appalachian Queer Youth Summit, said that their campaigns are based on making people look like demons and villains for easy political gain. He also mentioned that this kind of talk not only affects young people, but it also leads to harmful legislation. Studies show that this kind of talk is very damaging and can lead to suicidal thoughts and worse.
The primary election for the GOP governor is set for May 14.
