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Multiple county parties condemned the ad, specifically objecting to the reference to transgender girls as "boys" and urging her to take it down. The Lucas County Stonewall Democrats issued a statement saying there is "no difference" between Kaptur and her Republican opponent because they are "both united against the LBTQIA+ community." Privately, multiple House Democrats also communicated their disgust with the ad to Kaptur's office.

Lanae Erickson stated that research showed anti-trans attacks can take about 8 points off of the Democratic vote if left unaddressed. However, she noted there are ways to respond that could recover 10 to 12 to 14 points by being clear that there need to be "rules" rather than "laws," specifically suggesting that parents—not politicians—should be in charge of decisions regarding their children's healthcare.

Liam Kerr, cofounder of the centrist group Welcome PAC, argued that Kaptur and Davis are performing the "most important work in Democratic politics" by winning districts that President Trump carried by 11 percentage points in 2024. He suggested that while taking a specific stance on an 80/20 issue might be "bad politics," having large winners in the party publicly repudiate those candidates would be "even worse advocacy."

The article identifies Democratic House candidates Blake Gendebien of New York and Sarah Trone Garriott of Iowa, as well as Senate candidate Mary Peltola of Alaska, as having put out ads featuring similar rhetoric. Additionally, Rep. Don Davis (D-N.C.) released an ad stating there are "real concerns about fairness and safety" and that "states should decide what's right for protecting women and girls."

The Equality PAC, which is the political arm of the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus co-chaired by Rep. Ritchie Torres, stated that the ads were "deeply offensive" and that the caucus would not "passively and allow anyone to scapegoat the trans community." The Equality PAC explicitly stated they are "absolutely not supporting her campaign at this time," labeling her language as "unacceptable."

Representative Marcy Kaptur released a direct-to-camera advertisement in September where she stated that she "voted with Republicans to keep transgender ideology out of our schools." In the spot, she also stated that "parents know what's best for their kids" and asserted that "boys should not play in girls' sports." This was a direct response to an advertisement from Republican Derek Merrin.