My voting choices are based on the specifics of the candidates on my ballot. In an effort to not dox myself I will not be naming names, but I will explain the concerns as best I can. The overwhelming majority of democrats are better than republicans on trans rights. There are exceptions, and one of them is on my ballot, so the safest course of action is to make them lose, and a vote for the opposition is the only effective way under first past the post.

Only in one race, only in this year, hopefully never again.

I am worried about things getting worse because things are already getting worse. Democrats are testing the waters of hatred. Candidates in the article are proposing more extreme and harmful legislation than the worst republicans, while others have started breaking with the party to vote against us. These things are real and already happening. My vote didn't cause this. To blame myself would be to think I have much power over the situation at all.

The US system of government is disfunctional by design. There are many ways for minority parties to block or stop legislation from getting through. The federal legislature is rarely able to pass legislation without bipartisan support. As long as one of the parties supports us, that disfunction and gridlock is to our advantage. Hateful transphobic legislation is hard to pass.

But these hateful transphobic democrats are an existential treat to that balance. The past few years have been bad for us. Despite being the minority, the legislative harm from the federal government has been limited because of democratic opposition. If these transphobic democrats see success, and they cause the party to abandon us, there will be nothing to limit the harm. Transphobia will become bipartisan. Legislation will go through unopposed. That is the worst possible scenario.

The candidate on my ballot is one of those who has been starting to break with the party to vote against us. In the past session they voted to ban trans women from sports, and to deny healthcare to trans people. This incumbent has a proven voting record of undermining the very resistance that has preserved what little safety I had these past two years. The only reasonable action is to try and get them out of office. The republican is also a threat, but a much lesser one in context.