Transgender Democrat Drops Out Of Race After Trying To Fundraise Off Hating Charlie Kirk

Democratic candidate Laura Benjamin dropped out of a swing seat House race just days after blasting assassinated Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk in campaign advertising.

Benjamin, a transgender former city council member running to unseat three-term Republican Wisconsin Rep. Derrick Van Orden, announced the campaign’s suspension on Friday, citing a lack of fundraising dollars. The Democrat slammed Kirk’s “hateful rhetoric” in a series of Facebook ads that included donation links following the conservative activist’s assassination on Sept. 10.

“Running a congressional campaign across a district as large as WI-03 takes significant financial resources,” Benjamin wrote in a statement. “Despite the incredible support we’ve received, the path to victory simply isn’t there without the level of fundraising required to reach voters.”

Benjamin’s decision to exit the race came just two day after the campaign began including criticism of Kirk in digital ads on Facebook. The digital fundraising appeals blasted Van Orden for criticizing the transgender Democrat’s comments on Kirk shortly after his assassination.

“What kind of person blames me for violence just because I condemned Charlie Kirk’s hateful rhetoric?” the then-candidate wrote in a series of campaign ads that ran on Facebook between Wednesday and Thursday. “Derrick Van Orden, of course.”

Two of the ads featured an image of the slain Turning Point USA founder hosting “The Charlie Kirk Show” and Benjamin’s original comments posted on the social media platform Bluesky — a few hours after Kirk was pronounced dead.

“Charlie Kirk was hateful toward the lgbtq community and called for the eradication of trans care,” Benjamin