Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is pushing back hard against Republican efforts to cast him as an advocate of gender reassignment surgery for minors, saying his detractors have misrepresented his position and invoking his Christian faith and support for parental rights to explain why he vetoed a measure that banned gender-affirming care for children.

Beshear, a Democrat seeking a second term in a race that could test the political potency of Republican messaging on transgender issues, said in an interview that he has always opposed gender reassignment surgery for children.

“My position on this has always been clear,” Beshear said. “I have never supported gender reassignment surgery for minors, and they don’t happen in Kentucky.”

NOTE: This race is interesting. Beshear is a ‘moderate’ Democrat governor in the red state of Kentucky. He is pushing back on opponents who are blasting him on social issues. Beshear is a deacon in his church and does not support gender reassignment or minors. – Karen