Voters Prefer Candidates Who Are Supportive of Transgender Rights

[Lori Dee]

Voters Prefer Candidates Who Are Supportive of Transgender Rights, Think Recent Political Ads Have Gotten Mean-Spirited and Out of Hand
See the Survey Results Here
Data for Progress - October 24, 2024

In the final month before the 2024 election, former President Donald Trump and Republican candidates across the country have spent tens of millions of dollars on television ads attacking Democrats on issues related to transgender people, including their participation in sports and access to health care. A new Data for Progress survey examines the electoral relevance and salience of issues related to transgender people, as well as voters' perceptions of recent anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and legislative efforts.

Voters are also generally more favorable of candidates who support transgender rights and argue that the government should be less involved in regulating their private lives, rather than passing new laws to restrict transgender people's access to health care and sports. A majority of voters see Republicans' ramped-up, anti-trans legislative efforts as "playing political theater," think Republican candidates using anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric as part of their campaigns is "sad and shameful," and believe that political attack ads against the transgender community have gotten "mean-spirited and out of hand." Furthermore, despite the presence of more than $65 million in anti-transgender television ads ahead of the November election, approximately 3 in 4 voters across party lines think transgender people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.

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