According to exit polls, the majority of LGBTQ+ voters supported Vice President Kamala Harris, continuing a trend seen in previous elections. Despite President-elect Donald Trump’s efforts to make gains with various traditionally Democratic demographics, LGBTQ+ voters overwhelmingly cast their ballots for Harris, with 86% of this group favouring her over Trump’s 13% share, as per NBC News exit polls.
According to NBC News exit polls, 86% of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender voters cast their ballots for Harris, while only 13% supported Trump. This marks Trump’s lowest performance to date among LGBTQ+ voters, who comprise approximately 8% of the U.S. population.
Comparatively, in the 2020 election, 64% of LGBTQ+ voters backed Joe Biden, and 27% supported Trump. In 2016, Hillary Clinton received 77% of the LGBTQ+ vote, with 14% going to Trump, highlighting a steady trend of low support within this demographic.
The decline in LGBTQ+ support may be linked to concerns over the GOP’s stance on transgender issues and potential threats to marriage equality after the reversal of *Roe v. Wade*, explained Alison Gash, a political science professor at the University of Oregon.
Throughout his campaign, Trump adopted anti-transgender rhetoric, telling a New York City crowd, “We will get … transgender insanity the hell out of our schools,” according to The Associated Press. His campaign invested heavily in anti-trans advertisements, focusing on issues like transgender participation in women’s sports and state-funded gender-transition procedures in prisons, as reported by *The New York Times*. One such ad stated, “Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.”
Trump also made controversial remarks about the broader LGBTQ+ community, including repeatedly misnaming CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, calling him “Allison Cooper,” according to The Associated Press. His record on LGBTQ+ rights has been mixed; in 2016, he promised to protect the LGBTQ+ community but also suggested he would consider appointing justices who might overturn the Supreme Court’s decision on same-sex marriage.
Before the election, Trump’s running mate, Vice President-elect JD Vance, speculated that Trump might attract certain segments of the LGBTQ+ community. In a podcast with Joe Rogan on October 31, Vance said, “I wouldn’t be surprised if me and Trump won, just, the normal gay guy vote, because they just wanted to be left the hell alone, and now you have all this crazy stuff on top of it.”
