Nebraska Democratic congressional nominee Denise Powell publicly opposed Nebraska’s 2023 law restricting gender transition procedures for minors, calling it “discriminatory and hateful” in a series of social media posts now drawing significant criticism, according to Fox News.
Powell made multiple Facebook and TikTok posts opposing LB 574, Nebraska’s “Let Them Grow Act,” which prohibits gender transition procedures for minors and regulates puberty blockers and hormone treatments for those under 19.
In a March 2023 Facebook post, Powell urged Nebraskans to contact their state senators and join her at the Capitol on the final day of the first round of floor debate over the bill while wearing a shirt that read “PROTECT TRANS KIDS.”
“Laws like this one are passing all over the country — Iowa, Kentucky, Tennessee, to name a few,” Powell wrote, adding that Nebraska had “the opportunity to set an example” against what she described as “discriminatory and hateful behavior.”
Powell also praised lawmakers “fighting this on the front line” and urged supporters to “call or tweet at your senators TODAY,” further writing that “trans people belong in Nebraska and everywhere.”
On TikTok, under the username “dbpinomaha,” Powell posted a video on February 8, 2023, writing “Aaaaand we’re back, this time to oppose LB 574, a bill that would make it illegal for kids to access gender-affirming care.”
The video included photos appearing to show Powell holding protest signs herself, while a caption stated, “LB 574 hurt kids,” urging followers to contact their senator and declare that “TRANS NEBRASKANS BELONG.”
In a separate TikTok posted on March 31, 2023, Powell shared footage of student walkouts at high schools around Omaha and Lincoln in support of transgender youth, adding, “we are here for it!”
The Nebraska Legislature ultimately passed LB 574 by a 33-15 vote, and Gov. Jim Pillen signed it into law, with a Nebraska First PAC poll that same year finding that 61% of likely Nebraska voters supported prohibiting gender transition procedures for minors.
The same poll found that 78% of respondents agreed children should wait until adulthood before undergoing what it described as “irreversible, sex-change surgeries,” highlighting the political risk Powell faces in what is considered a swing district.
Jon Schweppe, a former Trump official at the FTC and senior advisor at American Principles Project, told Fox News Digital that “NE-2 is a swing district known for electing moderates, but Denise Powell is about as radical as it gets.”
Schweppe further claimed Powell “served on the board of an organization which opposes parental rights in education and promotes an ‘LGBTQ liberation’ curriculum for fifth graders,” describing those as “the issues she clearly cares about the most.”
Zach Bannon, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, described Powell as a “rubber stamp for the radical far-left, supporting their most extreme policies, including sex change surgeries for kids.”
Bannon added that “Denise Powell continues to prove that she rejects common sense and is completely out of touch with Nebraska values,” sharpening the Republican messaging ahead of the general election.
Powell is challenging Republican Omaha City Councilman Brinker Harding for Nebraska’s open 2nd Congressional District, a seat Democrats are seeking to flip as Republicans work to defend their narrow House majority.
According to her campaign website, Powell’s stated priorities include lowering costs, protecting healthcare access and abortion rights, supporting workers, and opposing what she characterizes as President Donald Trump’s “abuse of power and attacks on our democracy.”
