Voters Prefer Candidates Who Are Supportive of Transgender Rights, Think Recent Political Ads Have Gotten Mean-Spirited and Out of Hand

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. 

While Voters Trust Democrats Significantly More Than Republicans on Transgender Issues, These Issues Are Not Particularly Salient

Over the last year, Data for Progress has consistently found that voters see the economy, jobs, and inflation as the most important issue for them when deciding which candidate to vote for — while LGBTQ+ issues trail far behind as a motivating factor in vote choice.

In this survey, the overwhelming majority of voters (80%) agree that “both Democrats and Republicans should spend less time talking about transgender issues and more time talking about voters' priority issues like the economy and inflation.”

However, when considering issues related to transgender people, a majority of voters (52%) trust the Democratic Party more than the Republican Party to handle them — a +23-point margin, including a +17-point margin among Independents. 

Furthermore, a plurality of voters (45%), including a plurality of Independents (39%), think the Republican Party has a more extreme stance than the Democratic Party on these issues, while 40% say the Democrats’ stance is more extreme.

Voters Prefer Candidates Who Are Supportive of Transgender Rights and Think the Government Should Stay Out of People’s Private Lives

Asked to choose between a candidate who supports transgender rights and a candidate who opposes transgender rights, a majority of voters (52%) choose the pro-trans rights candidate by a +21-point margin, including a +19-point margin among Independents.

When messaging is introduced to explain two hypothetical candidates’ stances on issues related to transgender people, an even higher percentage of voters (57%) choose the candidate “who says that the government should stay out of people's private lives and that there is too much legislation targeting a small minority of the population,” while only 34% choose the candidate “who says that we need new laws that restrict access to transgender health care and keep ‘biological boys’ out of girls' sports.” 

Relatedly, 58% of voters, including a strong majority of Independents (61%) and even a plurality of Republicans (45%), say “the government should be less involved in regulating what transgender people are allowed to do, including the health care they can receive,” compared with fewer than 1 in 3 voters (31%) who say “the government should be more involved in regulating what transgender people are allowed to do, including the health care they can receive.”

Voters Want Transgender People to Be Treated With Dignity and Respect, Think Republicans’ Anti-LGBTQ+ Campaign Rhetoric Is Sad and Shameful

Nearly 3 in 4 voters across party lines (74%) — including 86% of Democrats, 78% of Independents, and 58% of Republicans — agree with the statement that “transgender people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.” 

A majority of voters (61%), including a majority of Independents (58%) and even a slight plurality of Republicans (41%), agree that “Republican candidates using anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric as part of their campaigns is sad and shameful.” Additionally, 54% of voters agree that “political attack ads against the transgender community have gotten mean-spirited and out of hand.” This includes a plurality of Independents (49%), by a +23-point margin.

Lastly, voters were informed that more than 500 bills aimed at limiting the rights of transgender people have been introduced in state legislatures across the country since the start of 2024. After being presented with this information, a majority of voters (55%), including majorities of Democrats (59%) and Independents (60%) and even a plurality of Republicans (48%), say: “This is too much legislation. Politicians are playing political theater and using these bills as a wedge issue.”

This survey once again underscores that voters largely want the presidential candidates to focus on talking about the economy and inflation, rather than issues related to transgender people. But when it comes to trans issues, voters trust the Democratic Party significantly more and see the Republican Party’s stance as more extreme. 

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.