Donald Trump's Winning Over Some LGBTQ+ Voters

Donald Trump is winning over a significant portion of voters in the LGBTQ+ community, a report from Data for Progress has discovered this month.

The progressive polling firm analyzed the responses of nearly 900 LGBTQ+ adults and found 22 percent had a favorable view of the former president.

While more supported President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party, the respondents were split on whether the Biden administration is doing better or worse than they expected.

Just under half (45 percent) said Biden has done better, while 47 percent said he is doing worse than anticipated. And 70 percent of LGBTQ+ adults who identify as Democrats want the party to do more to protect transgender and queer Americans from anti-LGBTQ+ laws.

Still, 57 percent of those surveyed indicated they had a favorable opinion of the Democratic Party, and 51 percent said the same about Biden.

But if Trump can bring in the support of even a quarter of the group that traditionally has gone to the Democratic candidate, there could be implications for election results.

The higher support for Trump might come down to the policy issues LGBTQ+ Americans are prioritizing this election cycle. The survey responses said the economy, jobs and inflation were a top issue at 27 percent, with LGBTQ+ issues and abortion issues lower at 15 and 10 percent respectively.

"They are hard to poll in a national survey," Paul Beck, a professor emeritus of political science at The Ohio State University, told Newsweek. "That said, we should never assume that their preferences are driven solely by LGBTQ issues."

Still, Michael Montgomery, a professor at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, said it is unlikely major numbers of LGBTQ+ voters would choose Trump in November due to his evolving stance since the 2016 national election.

"With Trump moving further to the right since 2016 on every major issue of concern to the LGBTQ community, it's hard to imagine him gaining support in that community," Montgomery told Newsweek.

Montgomery said the community has historically been one of the most highly educated groups and one of the most likely to vote among the American electorate, but excitement for casting a ballot may be waning among younger people.

LGBTQ+ Americans aged 18 to 24 were significantly more likely (48 percent) to say that neither political party cares about them, which could split them during the election cycle. Across the board, 37 percent of LGBTQ+ adults said neither party cares about them.

Fight for the LGBTQ+ Vote

Both Biden and Trump have made efforts to grow their support among LGBTQ+ Americans, who make up at least 7 percent of the national population.

Biden launched a reelection campaign called "Out for Biden-Harris" that saw several LGBTQ+ officials and celebrities express their support for the current administration.

Meanwhile, former First Lady Melania Trump hosted a fundraiser with conservative LGBTQ+ group Log Cabin Republicans this month. Back in 2020, Trump earned just 14 percent of the LGBTQ+ vote.

Recent polls reveal Biden is leading Trump in the election, with 47 percent saying they will vote for Biden on election day while a little less, 45 percent, said they supported Trump in a Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and Mainstreet Research survey.

However, these types of polls are not always accurate, and the FAU poll had a margin of error of 3 percent.

Another poll, from Public Opinion Strategies for NBC News, found Biden was ahead by 9 points for people who voted in the 2020 general election and 2022 midterm elections.