Poll finds LGBTQ voters overwhelmingly dislike Trump and support impeachment
Poll shows LGBTQ voters are "enthusiastic" about 2020 election, with Elizabeth Warren the favorite for the Democratic nomination
A recent poll of LGBTQ voters ahead of the 2020 presidential election finds that an overwhelming majority of them dislike President Trump and support impeaching and removing him from office.
The poll, conducted by YouGov Blue on behalf of OUT Magazine, surveyed 816 LGBTQ-identifying voters and found that Trump is historically unpopular, with 89% of LGBTQ respondents saying they “strongly disapprove” of the job he’s doing in office.
Seventy-five percent of LGBTQ voters claim they “strongly support” the current impeachment inquiry against the president, with another 9% saying they “somewhat support” it. In total, 89% of LGBTQ respondents favor impeaching Trump and removing him from office, with only 4% outright opposing it.
LGBTQ voters also appear to favor Democrats over Republicans, with more than 7 in 10 saying they have a “very unfavorable” opinion of Republicans in Congress, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and Vice President Mike Pence — who boasts a 78% “very unfavorable” score, compared to 7% who hold either “very favorable” or “somewhat favorable” views of him.
However, the pollsters warn that because polling data on LGBTQ voters is so scarce, the results should be viewed with some healthy skepticism, and underscore the need for more research into the attitudes and opinions of sexual minorities.
“Any survey is a snapshot of a group of people at a given time,” Alissa Stollwerk, the vice president of YouGov Blue, said in a statement to OUT Magazine. “However, as far as we know, this is the first survey of likely Democratic primary voters who identify as LGBTQ+, and it hopefully will help people understand the viewpoints of these Democratic voters, what issues are important to them, and what they want to see in the next Democratic nominee for president.”
The poll also found that 79% of LGBTQ voters say they are following the Democratic primary either “a lot” or “somewhat.” Similarly, 82% of LGBTQ voters rate themselves as a 7 or higher on a scale of zero to 10 about how enthusiastic they are about voting in the upcoming 2020 Democratic presidential primary.
Issues that LGBTQ respondents to the survey say are important to them in the upcoming election are similar to those cited by most other voters, with 66% saying they are concerned about health care, 59% saying they’re interested in climate change, 37% saying they’re interested in income inequality, and 36% saying they’re interested in gun policy. Only 34% listed LGBTQ rights as a top issue for them in 2020.
When specifically asked about LGBTQ issues, 73% of LGBTQ voters said they were concerned about violence against transgender people, while nearly 6 in 10 voters cited nondiscrimination protections, LGBTQ youth homelessness, same-sex adoption protections, and banning conversion therapy.
Alphonso David, the president of the Human Rights Campaign, issued a statement noting that the LGBTQ-specific issues cited by LGBTQ voters align with some of his organization’s top priorities.
“When I became President of the Human Rights Campaign, I embarked on a national tour to listen to LGBTQ people across the country. We talked about the issues that keep them awake at night and the resources they need,” David said. “This new poll from OUT Magazine not only provides data to match the stories I hear every day, but it reaffirms the importance of our work — here at the Human Rights Campaign and across the movement — and it aligns with the issues we know we must tackle together.”
The poll also tried to measure the level of support for various 2020 Democratic candidates. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren leads the pack, and would earn support from 31% of LGBTQ voters in a hypothetical matchup, compared to 18% who would back Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, 16% who back former Vice President Joe Biden, and 14% who would support former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
While Warren and Sanders seem to benefit from the fact that LGBTQ voters skew more liberal than the larger populace, electability may also play a role. Fifty-three percent of LGBTQ voters believe Warren could beat Donald Trump in a head-to-head matchup — the highest percentage of any Democratic candidate.
Comparatively, 52% of LGBTQ voters believe Biden could beat Trump, compared to 46% who believe Sanders could, and 29% who believe Buttigieg could.
The poll also contains some bad news for Biden, as 33% of LGBTQ voters view him “very” or “somewhat” unfavorably — the third-highest negative rating for any Democratic candidate, behind U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) and author Marianne Williamson, who are viewed unfavorably by 38% of voters.
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