• Pastor Toby Sumpter ignited controversy after claiming women give up the right to vote once married.
• He argued marriage constitutes a woman choosing her husband as her political representative.
• Social media backlash was swift, mocking his remarks as regressive and undemocratic.

MOSCOW, Idaho (TDR) — In a striking display of theological politics, Toby Sumpter, a pastor affiliated with Doug Wilson’s influential church network, has stirred outrage by declaring that women “effectively give up” their right to vote upon marriage. The remarks, made during a discussion on Cross Politics Studio, revived debates about the 19th Amendment and women’s suffrage, with critics denouncing them as both archaic and dangerous.

Toby Sumpter, a pastor at Christian nationalist Doug Wilson’s church, defends repealing the 19th Amendment by arguing that women effectively give up their right to vote by getting married: “When you get married, what you’re saying is, ‘I’m choosing this man to be my representative.'”

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— Right Wing Watch (@rightwingwatch.bsky.social) August 14, 2025 at 1:53 PM

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The Controversial Claim

Sumpter insisted that marriage is a form of representation in which a woman selects her husband as her proxy in the civic sphere. “When you get married, what you are saying is I’m choosing this man to be my representative,” he said, likening the arrangement to the broader system in which citizens elect officials who then legislate on their behalf.

Attempting to deflect charges of misogyny, Sumpter noted that women already do not vote directly on bills in Congress, framing his argument as an extension of representative democracy. Yet his defense only magnified criticism, with detractors pointing out the logical gaps in his analogy.

Social Media Reaction

The backlash was immediate. Right Wing Watch posted a clip that quickly spread across BlueSky, prompting widespread ridicule. One user posted images of prominent female politicians, quipping: “How do these fine Christian women feel about the Secretary of Defense being a congregant of this lunacy?”

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Another critic observed: “Your girlfriend or your wife isn’t your slave. When we get another religious fundamentalist from any religion, we get unlimited violence & death.” Others sarcastically suggested reversing Sumpter’s claim: “Why isn’t the man choosing his wife to be his representative? Shouldn’t that be legitimate too?”

Broader Implications

This episode underscores the intensifying collision between Christian nationalism and mainstream American democracy. Sumpter’s remarks echo earlier controversies when Fox News host Pete Hegseth amplified similar sentiments online, sparking debates about the role of religion in shaping political life.

As the United States nears another pivotal election cycle, such statements highlight the fragility of consensus on basic democratic principles. The fight over the 19th Amendment may not be legislative reality, but its invocation reveals enduring divisions over the relationship between gender, faith, and representation in the American experiment.

Is this revival of pre-suffrage arguments a fringe phenomenon—or a warning sign of deeper democratic erosion?

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