Mike Katz says Arminio “again misgendered” McBride after a warning and calls on him to withdraw
Michael KatzRepublican nominee for U.S. Senate in Delaware and a candidate on stage at the forum, in a campaign statement
In a statement posted the evening of the forum, Katz, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, said Arminio had misgendered McBride, acknowledged a mistake, received an explicit warning and “then did it again,” and that he had “called from the stage for the moderator to remove him.” He said disagreement “is not an excuse for disrespect” and called on Arminio to withdraw his candidacy for the U.S. House.
“When someone seeking public office is given an opportunity to correct his conduct, acknowledges his mistake, receives an explicit warning, and then repeats that conduct, it raises serious concerns about the standards we should expect from those who seek to represent us. … For these reasons, I am calling on Joseph Arminio to withdraw his candidacy for the United States House of Representatives.”
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Where this statement fits
Did Joe Arminio’s misgendering of Sarah McBride warrant his removal from a Delaware candidate forum?
On September 17, 2026, at a candidates forum at the Siegel Jewish Community Center in Wilmington, Joseph Arminio, the Republican nominee for Delaware’s at-large U.S. House seat, referred to his opponent, Rep. Sarah McBride, with male terms, including “his” in his opening statement, which the audience met with boos, and “gentlemen” later. McBride is the first openly transgender member of Congress. After the first instance the moderator, Ken Grant, told Arminio: “This is your final warning. If you fail to show respect to anyone else on this stage, you will be asked to leave.” Arminio said in a later answer that he had “committed an error.” After the second instance his microphone was cut and he was removed. McBride said on stage that she did not want Arminio to be unable to speak. Mike Katz, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, who was on the same stage, has said he called for Arminio’s removal, and afterward called on him to withdraw from the race. Grant later said the rule was applied “as they would have been for any candidate, of any party, on any subject.” Whether Arminio’s conduct warranted his removal from the forum, and whether it warrants his withdrawal from the race, is the matter in dispute. In his first public statement since the forum, issued September 22, Arminio said he appreciated McBride defending his freedom of speech and that he is “a firm supporter of freedom of speech and the Constitution in its entirety.”
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About this source
Statement posted to Katz’s campaign page on the evening of the forum. It recounts what he said from the stage, says Arminio “acknowledged that he had made an error,” was warned, and “then did it again,” and says that he “called from the stage for the moderator to remove him from the forum.” Reproduced in full by WDEL. The wording it gives for his on-stage apology differs slightly from the recording.
Original video
About this source
Joseph Arminio's three-minute opening statement as the second-half U.S. House candidate, identified on his table placard. In it he refers to Rep. Sarah McBride as “his” (“the representative from Delaware, through the net of his comments and his actions”), the audience reacts, and he says “I would like to show respect to the speaker, that would be nice.” Later in the statement the recording captures the words “he's accomplished,” then “she is accomplished,” then Arminio saying “Thank you for the correction.” Moderator Ken Grant then says “We saw an example over the past hour of candidates acting with decorum and with respect towards each other. This is your final warning.” Mike Katz, opening for the U.S. Senate candidates, apologizes to “everybody here and everybody else on the stage” for the comments. The only use of “sorry” in Arminio's remarks in this half is the phrase “I'm sorry to have to say that the representative from Delaware…” that opens the sentence containing the first male terms.
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About this source
Answering a question on health care, Arminio says “gentlemen like the two here on this, up here with me on the Democratic Party, and in the Republican Party,” then “may I finish please?” The moderator says he was warned and asks for the microphone to be cut. Rep. Sarah McBride says “Listen, I just want to say here, I don't want this gentleman to not be able to have the ability to…” and is cut off by a call to remove Arminio, which Mike Katz has said he made from the stage. Arminio says “I appreciate that” and the forum continues without him. The recording's fixed camera does not show whom Arminio gestured toward; The Philadelphia Inquirer, WDEL and Spotlight Delaware report that he pointed at McBride and Sen. Chris Coons.
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About this source
WDEL's report, the first to break the story according to the Washington Blade. It quotes Arminio, the moderator and Katz, and reproduces Katz's statement in full.
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About this source
WHYY's report. It says the forum was co-sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Delaware and the Wilmington Chapter of Hadassah, quotes Katz's apology and statement, and says McBride's office referred it to her posted statement.
Before the quotation
On stage, opening his remarks after Arminio’s first male terms for McBride, Katz said: “I’d just like to apologize to everybody here and everybody else on the stage. As a physician, I believe in, recognize our common humanity and respect for each other. And so I feel that pain over those comments. My apologies for it.” His written statement quotes those remarks with slightly different wording.
After the quotation
Spotlight Delaware reported that the state Republican Party chair, Gene Truono, did not respond to requests for comment and that many commenters on Katz’s post criticized him for the call. WDEL reported that Arminio’s first public statement since the forum, issued September 22, did not specifically address Katz’s comments and that he plans to introduce an education reform initiative in the coming days.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
On Arminio’s use of male terms for McBride at the forum after correction and warning, and his removal for it, Katz condemns. He calls Arminio’s remarks misgendering, says he repeated the conduct after acknowledging his mistake and receiving an explicit warning, backs the removal, and calls on him to withdraw. The call for withdrawal goes beyond the forum removal to Arminio’s candidacy; that is recorded in the statement rather than the label.
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More from this case
Read the full caseArminio invokes free speech in later response to the candidates-forum incident
“I myself am a firm supporter of freedom of speech and the Constitution in its entirety. That, of course, extends to one’s right to assert the “gender identity” of one’s choosing, as well as to assert the facts as one sees them.”Read statement
Delaware Republican Party says no forum should “substitute enforced language for open political argument”
Delaware Republican Party
“Delawareans deserve a real debate, not a debate that ends the moment a Republican nominee refuses to recite the other side’s talking points. We stand with the First Amendment. Candidates should be able to speak, voters should be able to hear them, and no forum should substitute enforced language for open political argument.”Read statement
Nancy Mace calls Arminio’s removal “The Left policing biology and speech”
“The Left policing biology and speech...”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Mike Katz says Arminio “again misgendered” McBride after a warning and calls on him to withdraw". First published: 2026-09-20. Last updated: 2026-09-25. https://disputeindex.com/events/1235-in-a-statement-posted-the-evening-of-the