Democrat Tina Shah calls transgender healthcare for children a ‘no-brainer’in competitive NJ House race

People gather in Union Square for the Together We Win rally supporting transgender youth in New York City on Jan.10, 2026.(Jason Alpert-Wisnia/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)

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Shah is one of four relatively well-funded Democrats vying to take on Rep.Tom Kean Jr., R-N.J., in November’s midterm elections.Kean’s suburban swing seat is considered one of the most competitive House districts in the country.

Shah’s apparent embrace of “transgender healthcare” for minors aligns with the views of her former boss, Surgeon GeneralVivek Murthy,who denounced Republican-led states cracking down on child sex-change procedures during the Biden administration.Shah served as a senior advisor to Murthy in 2021 and 2022.

The National Republican Congressional Committee,House Republicans’ campaign arm, sharply criticized Shah’s support for “transgender healthcare�

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“Radical Democrat Tina Shah said it loud and clear: She’d be a vote for radical policies like sex changes for minors and taxpayer-funded drag queens,” NRCC spokeswoman Maureen O’Toole said.“Shah is completely out of step with Garden State families.” 

�s campaign prior to publication.

Shah’s remarks come as some Democrats have blamed the party’slurch to the lefton the issue for its poor performance in the 2024 election.

Major medical groups, which previously offered full-throated support for child sex changes, have also largely retreated from the issue, with the American Medical Association in February saying those procedures should be generally postponed to adulthood. 

Still, Democrats in Congress have not made a clear attempt to calibrate on transgender issues.

Just a handful of Democratscrossed party linesin 2025 to vote for GOP-authored legislation that would have criminalized child sex changes.Kean was among nearly all Republicans who supported the bill.

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Rep.Tom Kean Jr., R-N.J., is running for a third House term in 2026 after fending off Democratic challengers in prior election cycles.(Getty Images)

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The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates Kean’s re-election bid a “toss-up.” The election prognosticator downgraded the race for Republicans last year after Gov.Mikie Sherrill,D-N.J., carried the swing district by two points.

Shah entered April with nearly $1.4 million in the bank, according to recent Federal Election Commission filings.Navy veteran Rebecca Bennett and businessman Brian Valera, who are also vying for the Democratic nomination ahead of the June primary, have posted similar fundraising numbers.

Kean’s campaign notably dwarfs the field with roughly $3.4 million cash on hand. 

The GOP incumbent, who fended off a competitive Democratic challenge in 2024, has come under recent scrutiny for aprolonged absence from Congressdue to an unspecified health issue.

Gov.Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., narrowly carried Rep.Tom Kean Jr.’s battleground district in 2025.(Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images)

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Kean has missed 52 roll call votes in the House since March 17, amounting to a 100% absence rate, according to GovTrack, a website that monitors congressional activities. 

“My doctors continue to assure me that my recovery will be complete and that I will be back to the job I love very soon,” he said in a statement last week.“I expect to return to a full schedule and be at 100 percent.”