SLOTKIN SWINGS THROUGH RENO: Senator Who Backed Gender-Affirming Care Appears Alongside Benitez-Thompson

RENO, Nev. — Michigan Democrat Sen. Elissa Slotkin brought her national profile to Northern Nevada this week, headlining a Washoe County Democrat fundraiser where congressional candidate Teresa Benitez-Thompson was among the featured guests.

Slotkin delivered the keynote address Wednesday at the Washoe County Democrat Party’s “Power the Blue Wave” dinner at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno. The party advertised Benitez-Thompson, the Democrat nominee for Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District, as a special guest alongside other statewide Democrat candidates. 

Slotkin’s Nevada swing comes as Benitez-Thompson receives increasing national attention. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added her to its “Red to Blue” program this week, signaling that national Democrats are investing resources in her bid for the Republican-held seat. 

But Slotkin also arrives in Nevada carrying a congressional record that could sharpen one of the culture-war divides already surrounding Benitez-Thompson.

“I’ve always fought for equality and LGBTQ+ rights, including again yesterday by voting last night to protect access to gender-affirming care for military families,” Slotkin said in July 2023.

The underlying vote involved an amendment to the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act sponsored by Republican Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina. The amendment prohibited gender-transition procedures, including surgery or medication, for minor dependents enrolled in the military’s Exceptional Family Member Program. It passed the House 222-210. Slotkin voted against it. 

Slotkin also opposed a separate amendment that prohibited TRICARE and the Department of Defense from covering sex-reassignment surgeries and gender hormone treatments for transgender individuals. That amendment passed 222-211. 

Supporters of those restrictions argued taxpayers should not be responsible for financing gender-transition procedures through military health programs. Opponents, including Slotkin, argued that military families should retain access to medical care and that parents and doctors should be able to make those decisions.

The issue has particular relevance for Benitez-Thompson because her own Nevada legislative record has already become part of the campaign.

In 2015, Benitez-Thompson spoke against Assembly Bill 375, legislation that would have required students to use school bathrooms, locker rooms and showers designated for their biological sex while requiring schools to provide alternative accommodations for transgender students. 

“Regulating bathroom use?” Benitez-Thompson told lawmakers. “Such regulation is the exact opposite of efficient government, meaningful government, good public policy.” She voted against the measure, which ultimately failed 22-20. 

Slotkin’s appearance alongside Benitez-Thompson therefore brings more than national fundraising muscle to Reno. It also puts renewed attention on two Democrats whose records show opposition to government restrictions on transgender-related policies, one in Congress involving military health care and the other in Carson City involving public-school facilities.

Axios reported Slotkin’s Nevada trip is also drawing attention because she is widely viewed as a possible 2028 presidential contender, with Nevada positioned near the front of the Democrat presidential nominating calendar.

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