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FIRST ON FOX: Nebraska Democratic congressional nominee Denise Powell publicly opposed Nebraska’s 2023 law restricting gender transition procedures for minors, calling it “discriminatory and hateful” and urging supporters to contact lawmakers, according to unearthed social media posts that are generating pushback from critics.
Before becoming her party’s nominee, 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 the use of puberty blockers and hormone treatments for those under 19.
In a March 2023 Facebook post, Powell, listed as an administrator on The Bellwether Initiative Nebraska page, 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.”
“Today is the final day of the first round of floor debate on LB 574, a bill that would prohibit and punish healthcare providers from providing gender affirming care to children under the age of 19,” she wrote.
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“Laws like this one are passing all over the country — Iowa, Kentucky, Tennessee, to name a few. Nebraska has the opportunity to set an example; to show trans kids and families around the country that we won’t stand for this 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.”
“Trans people belong in Nebraska and everywhere and we will never ever stop fighting for their right to exist and thrive,” she wrote.
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Powell also took to TikTok under the username “dbpinomaha” to oppose the legislation.
In a video posted Feb. 8, 2023, Powell wrote, “Aaaaand we’re back, this time to oppose LB 574, a bill that would make it illegal for kids to access gender-affirming care,” before the video showed her sipping from a mug beneath the words, “Lord it’s too early for the garbage.”
The video then showed a photo of the Nebraska State Capitol exterior with the words, “Democracy happens here. Sometimes,” before cutting to footage of protesters holding signs reading, “Trans Nebraskans Belong.”
The video also included photos appearing to show Powell in her car holding one of the protest signs herself.
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“LB 574 hurt kids,” she wrote in the caption. “Call your senator and tell them TRANS NEBRASKANS BELONG.”
In a separate TikTok posted on March 31, 2023, Powell shared a video of student walkouts at high schools around Omaha and Lincoln, writing that students had walked out in support of transgender youth and adding, “we are here for it!”
The Nebraska Legislature passed LB 574 by a 33-15 vote, and Gov. Jim Pillen later signed it into law.
That same year, Nebraska First PAC poll found that 61% of likely Nebraska voters supported prohibiting “gender altering procedures like surgeries, puberty blockers, or hormone therapies” for those under 19, while 78% agreed children should wait until adulthood before undergoing “irreversible, sex-change surgeries.”
In April, a bill from Republican state Sen. Kathleen Kauth to expand LB 574 by banning puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for those under 19 failed to advance, according to the Nebraska Examiner .
“NE-2 is a swing district known for electing moderates, but Denise Powell is about as radical as it gets,” Jon Schweppe, former Trump official at the FTC and senior advisor at American Principles Project, told Fox News Digital.
“Not only has she been an advocate for transgender sex changes for kids, but she served on the board of an organization which opposes parental rights in education and promotes an ‘LGBTQ liberation’ curriculum for fifth graders. These are the issues she clearly cares about the most.”
Zach Bannon, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) told Fox News Digital that Powell is a “rubber stamp for the radical far-left, supporting their most extreme policies, including sex change surgeries for kids.”
“Denise Powell continues to prove that she rejects common sense and is completely out of touch with Nebraska values,” Bannon added.
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 try to hold on to their razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives.
According to her campaign website, Powell says her priorities are lowering costs, protecting healthcare access and abortion rights, supporting workers, and opposing President Donald Trump’s “abuse of power and attacks on our democracy.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Powell’s campaign multiple times for comment.
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