Man Who Identifies as a Woman Elected to Lead Democrat Women’s Group in Rhode Island

A 75-year-old man who identifies as a woman recently won an election to become the chair of the Rhode Island Democratic Women’s Caucus. 

The Rev. Donnie Anderson won an uncontested race to become the leader of the Democrat women’s group despite not being a woman. 

When running for the position, Anderson told the group “If you choose me to be your next executive, you will make a statement to the world about my community.” He added “I don’t want you to vote for me because I am transgender,” going on to say, “Please don’t do that. And I hope you won’t vote against me because I am transgender either.”

“There are young people and adults who live so deeply in the shadows they are almost unknown, because they don’t see people like them in public positions,” Anderson remarked when making his pitch. 

Political writer and strategist Natasha Chart spoke to Breitbart News about the situation, remarking that “it’s always sad when yet another women’s group is pressured into letting a transvestite take over senior leadership, out of fear they’ll be called bigots for not pretending to think he’s a woman.”

Chart also went on to ask, “Where are all the adults? I remember wanting the older generation to loosen up a bit when I was a teen, but this generation of older people needs to get some backbone.”

Anderson, who currently works as a pastor at Pilgrim United Church of Christ in New Bedford, Massachusetts, has now outlined the group’s priorities for this year. The newly elected chair of the Rhode Island Democratic Women’s Caucus noted his support for gender ideology in schools and his opposition to the movement for parental rights. 

When the Independent Women’s Network hosted a panel discussion at Cranston Public Library titled “What Your Kids Learn About Gender in School,” Anderson spoke at a pro-trans protest. 

During his speech, he asserted that “there is a limit to free speech” before warning that those attending the Independent Women’s Forum event were “recruiting people to be part of legislative efforts that will make it harder for our children to realize who they are and be who they are.” As a result of these efforts from the right, “children are going to die,” Anderson alleged. 

Chart also told Breitbart News that “it takes a lot of nerve to be a 75-year-old grandfather campaigning to sterilize young children on the basis of unsubstantiated suicide threats.”

Anderson has since defended the presence of gender ideology in schools, saying recently, “There are resources for help, but these people want to take the help away.” He even charged, “It’s like saying there’s someone out there drowning and someone’s ready to throw in a life preserver and they’re saying, ‘No, let’s make a rule: You can’t throw life preservers to that drowning person.’ That’s what they’re doing.”

The Rhode Island Democratic Women’s Caucus, which Anderson now leads, is no longer officially affiliated with the state Democrat party after a 2019 dispute over fundraising and endorsements resulted in a separation between the two organizations. 

The Rhode Island Democratic Women’s Caucus states that it exists to ensure “equality in power, influence, and economic status for women and femme-identified people,” according to their website. 

Anderson, whom Reduxx reports is a “75-year-old father of four and grandfather of seven,” has spoken at a variety of universities, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Brown University. 

Anderson is not, however, the first man who identifies as transgender who has been elected to a leadership position in the Northeast. A Democrat official in New Hampshire, who is also a man who identifies as a woman, was arrested for stalking a woman just days after he was elected to the New Hampshire State House. 

Spencer Lindquist is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerLndqst and reach out at slindquist@breitbart.com.