Nov 7
Exit Poll: Queer Voters Backed Harris, Abandoned Trump in Droves
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 3 MIN.
Donald Trump and JD Vance made vaguely supportive noises on the campaign trail, but LGBTQ+ Americans didn't buy it; an overwhelming share of queer voters backed Vice President Kamala Harris at the ballot box, NBC News reported.
"Harris' performance among LGBT voters was stronger than that of any Democratic candidate in the last five presidential elections," the outlet detailed, based on exit polls that NBC conducted on Election Day that suggested 86% of queer voters backed Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz.
That result marked "a 22-point increase over 2020, when Biden won 64 percent of the LGBTQ vote against Trump," political news site The Hill recalled.
Only 12% backed Trump and Vance – "a 15-point decline from 2020," The Hill pointed out – even though, NBC News noted, "Vance predicted that he and Trump would win the 'normal gay guy vote.'"
While "the GOP presidential ticket captured fewer than 1 in 5 LGBT male voters, though that figure could also include bisexual and transgender men," NBC News detailed, "Trump's support among LGBT female voters was even more tepid, at 8%."
"White LGBT people went solidly for Harris over Trump by 82% to 16%, though Harris' margin was even bigger among LGBT voters of color at 91% to 5%," the report went on to add.
What's more, voters were emotionally invested in the outcome: "Most LGBT voters said they'd be either 'excited' (39%) or 'optimistic' (43%) if Harris were elected president," NBC News relayed. "By contrast, 62% of LGBT respondents said they'd be 'scared' if Trump won."
Such fears were warranted, given the anti-LGBTQ+ actions and policies Trump pursued during his first term, including barring openly transgender troops from serving in the military and weakening protections for queer Americans.
More recently, Trump "made anti-transgender messaging a central part of his campaign's closing argument," The Hill detailed, "spending tens of millions of dollars on advertising that went after transgender athletes and gender-affirming health care" even as he "railed against what he called 'transgender insanity...'"
Moreover, the plans for a second Trump term outlined in Project 2025, the 900+ page document created by the anti-LGBTQ+ Heritage Foundation, specify an agenda intended to attack same-sex couples, criminalize the stories of transgender people by labeling them as "pornography" that would be punishable by relegating offenders to sex offender status, and dismantle anti-discrimination protections.
Whether out of hope or fear, the election spurred the highest turnout of LGBTQ+ voters "on record," the news story said, with 8% of voters identifying as part of the LGBTQ+ community.
"The percentage of the electorate identifying as LGBT has doubled since Barack Obama was elected president in 2008, when it was 4%," NBC News said.
Those polling numbers were echoed in polling data shared by the Human Rights Campaign, which found that while voters were motivated by economic anxieties and a desire for profound change, the Trump campaign's anti-LGBTQ+ messaging had failed to gain traction.
"Equality Voters and LGBTQ+ voters showed up this election to vote for a brighter future, and that fight will continue," HRC President Kelley Robinson said in a release.
"While the results of this election are deeply disappointing, this polling shows that strong majorities of Americans want elected officials to protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination and to stay out of the health care of trans people. It also confirms that once again, anti-trans attacks were not a motivating issue for voters – all they do is sow hate and division toward a community that just wants to be their authentic selves."
Reporting on voters overall, the Associated Press noted that despite the former president's – now president-elect's – decisive victory, "there were concerns about how he could wield his power."
"Most voters said they were very or somewhat concerned that electing Trump would bring the U.S. closer to being an authoritarian country, where a single leader has unchecked power. Still, more than 1 in 10 of those voters backed him."
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
