The former NCAA swimmer-turned-conservative activist has pledged to help defeat any Democrat who supports the inclusion of transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports. On Monday night, nearly every Senate Democrat voted against the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act.”
Gaines spent Monday in Minnesota rallying support for a state bill that would protect female athletes from transgender inclusion. However, that bill failed to pass in the Minnesota House of Representatives.
Gaines, who assisted President Donald Trump and Republicans in capitalizing on national outrage over Democrats allowing transgender athletes to participate in girls’ sports, is now focused on inflicting additional consequences on the DNC in the 2026 midterms, as the party appears unwilling to budge on the issue.
However, Gaines has not ruled out taking matters into her own hands and eventually running for public office, she told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview last Friday.
“It’s never what I saw myself doing,” said Gaines, who majored in health sciences at the University of Kentucky and had originally planned to study dentistry.
“But now, of course, with this issue and others, I would argue the entire America-first agenda. I’m just so passionate, I care so much, and I love it, so we’ll see. It is certainly not something I would rule out.
I don’t think I’m that crazy yet, because I believe you’d have to be clinically insane to do that voluntarily. But I believe that eventually I will be able to influence policy in that way.”
Gaines stated that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard would be her primary role model in a potential political career.
“She’s so fierce, and she is so strong, and what you see is what you get,” Gaines told me. “She stands firm for what she believes to be true, right, righteous, moral, and just. And I believe we need more of that. We don’t have many of those; it’s a very rare trait, particularly in politics.
Gaines’ political resume already includes three years of highly visible activism aimed at protecting women’s sports. This week, the Georgia House of Representatives passed “The Riley Gaines Act,” which seeks to prohibit trans athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports in the state.
Gaines, who campaigned for Trump and Republicans in 2024, has since emerged as a rising conservative counterculture figure, leading the popular “Gaines for Girls” OutKick podcast.
This week, she also led a pre-race prayer at the NASCAR Cup Series’ EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.
If Gaines decides to launch her own political campaign, she has the support of a prominent Republican figure.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, has been a key legislative ally of Gaines in the fight to keep men out of women’s and girls’ sports. Blackburn co-sponsored the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act and has introduced three pieces of legislation to address the issue.
After working with Gaines on that issue, Blackburn believes the former swimmer and aspiring dentist can accomplish anything she sets her mind to.
“I think Riley has the ability to pursue whatever she wants to pursue,” Blackburn told Fox News Digital. “She thought she would be a dentist, and life has taken some interesting turns, and I am so pleased to see the work that she’s doing to protect women and girls.”
Gaines has already spoken out on issues other than women’s sports, aligning herself firmly with Trump and the Republican mainstream on immigration and border security, US-Ukraine relations, and rolling back DEI. She has made these stances clear and consistent on social media for several years.
For the time being, Gaines is focused on reversing the political careers of Democrats who voted to keep trans athletes in women’s and girls’ sports.
Gaines took to social media shortly after Monday night’s Senate vote to criticize the Democrats who voted against the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act and rally her supporters to oppose them. Gaines specifically mentioned Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga.
“You’ve got a daughter. Do you have no shame? Georgians are watching. Gaines wrote, “I will make it my mission to do everything in my power to remove you from your Senate seat in 2026,” over a photo of every Democratic senator who voted against the bill.
Gaines previously told Fox News Digital that she anticipates receiving support from elected Republican officials, including Trump, in her efforts to unseat these senators. She also claims that some of the Democrats she plans to unseat are already opposed to transgender rights.
“In some of these private, confidential conversations I’ve had with several Democratic senators, they assure me that they understand how absurd it is to allow men to participate in women’s sports and that they would not want it to happen to their daughters. “But they hide behind a variety of excuses,” Gaines stated.
After those alleged Senators hid behind their excuses, they have officially made Gaines an adversary, and the DNC may have to prepare to face Gaines for many years to come.
