Sens. Sherrod Brown and Jon Tester (Getty Images)

Senate Democrats were "caught flat-footed" by Republican campaign ads targeting left-wing support for biological men’s participation in women’s sports, according to Axios.

In the wake of Republicans' election sweep, Senate Democrats held private "listening sessions" with outgoing Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D.) to reflect on their campaigns' failures, Axios reported. In two separate meetings, senators voiced frustration over the party’s failure to effectively counter the GOP’s messaging on transgender issues.

Speakers included Sens. Sherrod Brown (Ohio) and Jon Tester (Mont.), who lost their reelection bids, and Jacky Rosen (Nev.) and Tammy Baldwin (Wis.), who narrowly won reelection.

Republicans spent more than $77 million on ads targeting transgender issues in Senate races across 10 states since July, according to AdImpact. One ad targeting Brown accused him of voting for "allowing trans biological men in girls' locker rooms" and "sex change surgery for kids."

"Kamala is for they/them; President Trump is for you," said one Trump campaign ad that aired across the swing states.

"Week by week when that ad hit and stuck and we didn’t respond, I think that was the beginning of the end," former Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell told the Associated Press Thursday.

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