When voters are asked whether they are more inclined to support a candidate who backs transgender rights or one who opposes them, voters overwhelmingly choose the candidate in favor of transgender rights, by a margin of 21 points. This trend holds true among Independents, with a 19-point preference. Even 22% of Republicans indicate they are more likely to support a candidate who favors trans rights—a significantly higher percentage than the share of Democrats who would back a candidate opposing them.
Furthermore, voters showed frustration with the wave of anti-trans advertisements. When asked if they thought political attack ads against the transgender community have gotten mean spirited and out of hand, far more voters agree than disagree (+28 points). This finding holds true for independents (+23 points) as well, with even 31% of Republicans finding that there were too many political attack ads.
Transphobia is common even in the Democratic party, but it’s not made into part of the political identity of the party and only appears non-existent compared to the outright trans genocide the Republicans are advocating.
If the Dems chase the Overton Window to the right, they might make ‘common sense’ ‘safeguards’ against ‘abnormal behaviour’ part of the party identity. If being elected takes hate, I sadly believe that enough candidates will accept that as part of gaining power.
Honestly I think entities like HRC are some of the main reasons this hasn’t been a bigger issue in the U.S. - luckily the Dems haven’t gone the way of the UK Labour party by embracing transphobia as a policy to win over voters. Luckily voters don’t seem that motivated by transphobia.