Exit polling of roughly 16,000 people who voted on Tuesday found that 7% of them identified as LGBTQ, which is a record turnout!
The exit surveys were conduced by Edison Research for the National Election Pool and interviewed voters outside of polling places or early voting sites, as well as by phone.
“Over the last three elections, the share of LGBTQ voters has continued to increase, solidifying our community as a key rising constituency that politicians must court,” Alphonso David, president of the HRC, said in a statement. “In the most consequential election of our lifetimes, LGBTQ people showed our strength.”
Now, here’s where things get weird.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Because while more openly LGBTQ people than ever turned out to vote in this year’s election, an alarming number of them cast their ballots for the guy who has spent the past four years chipping away at their rights.
28% of LGBTQ voters said they voted for Trump. 28%! That’s nearly double the number that voted for him in 2016.
Why is this? Who knows? But a recent study out of the Williams Institute could explain it. It found that 41% of LGB Republicans say they wish they were straight, and 38% of them believe their sexuality is a character flaw.
Or maybe it’s just the powerful influence of Tiffany Trump, who headlined a couple of “Trump Pride” events, where she giggled about how her father was going to find a cure for AIDS.
Related: WATCH: Tiffany Trump heckled by queer activists at Trump Pride rally
Cam
Exit polls are done on the day of the election, and people who voted on the day of the election were more likely to be Republican. Chances are the actual percentage is lower because so many of us voted early.
tf3.0
Im still trying to figure which rights we lost under Trump?
All I can see is the second most important Supreme Court ruling of all time for LGBT rights went through with a vote from a Trump appointee.
You people hate Trump and you dont even really know why.
Paul Nadolski
I agree, I’ve never been given an exit poll, and I voted early, so this more than likely reflects a small subset of the LGBT vote.
As for why I dislike Trump, try white supremacy, bigotry, racism, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, not to mention being the biggest failure in American history (with regard to the ongoing pandemic)…and I could go on but I see no point in arguing with stupid people.
tf3.0
Again, you people list off these left wing buzzwords instead to end discussions, but Trump did better with minorities than any republican in modern history.
You can provide no policy he endorsed that specifically and maliciously targeted LGBT, but instead I can point out to our greatest LGBT triumph since Lawrence v Texas which occurred under his watch.
Are you sure you know who’s stupid?
Cam
@tf3.0
You keep asking this same question under all your other screenames, and that’s adorable. But I’m fine answering that again.
Ask the Transgender people who were serving legally in the military, and now cannot if the community has lost any rights under Trump.
barryaksarben
Who is the troll who insists trump is our bestie? His administration is by far the worst administration for the LBGT community ever. Now it hasnt gotten around to white gay men YET but they are well on their way and they will throw us to the wolves the nanosecond that their evangelical AMerican Taliban demands they do. The GOP itself has stated it wants to so away with gay marriage. As an older smarter gay man I recognise the FAKE news of these log cabin republicans. Bill Clinton wasnt an ally at all as he gave us Dont ask Dont tell totally ignoring all the great things he did for us and that the heads of the military for the first time in history vowed to ignore the commander in chief if he got rid of the ban altogether. He named the first openly gay ambassador ever he allowed gays to work in the federal govt which was banned before him and countless other firsts but yeah lie and try to convince us who were there that you are telling the truth which you are NOT. TRUMP sucks and we will be safer without him
Texasholdem
Also they can’t do exit polls on people who voted by mail.
The pre election polling was wrong so I think the exit polling was too.
SnakeyJ
@Cam
There are a lot of disqualifiers the military uses. Anyone with a Bi-Polar disorder, Schizophrenia, Anxiey/Depression, PTSD and OCD, Druggies and Alcoholics. All are banned as well. But even so many of the trans soldiers got waivers to stay. Either way they’re not a big presence in the military.
What gay-specific rights has Trump taken away?
Texasholdem
@SnakeyJ
Trumps DOJ was at SCOTUS today arguing that religious groups partnered with governments should be allowed to discriminate against gay and lesbian couples from adopting.
SnakeyJ
I agree that a tax funded agency should not be able to discriminate. I think the city should be allowed to end it’s contract with Catholic Social Services. But, there will always be “exceptions” with religious organizations. Anyone who goes to a Catholic agency to place their kid obviously wants that kid placed with someone who follows Catholic rules. So that’s a decision made by the person handing the kid over. I think gays are not going to win these small battles against religious organizations, but who really cares when there are a ton of other organizations that will adopt to gays? It’s like getting a gay wedding cake… if one bakery refuses… just go to another one.
Texasholdem
Not every gay couple lives in places with multiple bakeries or multiple adoption agencies. They shouldn’t have to travel thousands of miles for either.
The point is you asked for an example and I gave you one that is very current. Whether you agree with it or not, it’s an anti lgb policy.
SnakeyJ
It’s not really taking anyone’s rights away. Plus since we’re dealing with adoption, which is a sensitive topic. Here’s an example: a mother has to give up her child, and brings it to an agency asking that the kid is placed in a liberal environment. To parents who are open to gay people and are non-conforming. But the agency can’t do that and place the child with strict Mormons?
Cam
@SnakeyJ
Oh look, now the troll has switched over to this screename.
So to clarify, now your argument is that Yes, Trump DOES discriminate against Trans people but that doesn’t count as attacking LGBTQ’s rights?
Sweetie, we get it, you’re a bigoted troll and you’re here to defend bigots. Now head over to some other website, you’re repeating of the same B.S. commits the worst sin of the troll. You’re boring and easily exposed.
SnakeyJ
@Cam: I’ve told you many times before, I have only one screen name. A bigot is someone who is intolerant of anyone who has a belief or opinion that’s different than their own… I can have a discussion with people who don’t agree with me and not get angry about it. You have demonstrated that you want to shut down people’s opinions if they’re not aligned with your own. So who’s the bigot?
Phillip
I know why you voted for Trump:
You prefer the value of making money over the respect of your own gay rights.
These Republicans wouldn’t even allow YOUR “Log Cabin” buddies a table in the Big Tent because they dislike you so much. If they had their way (and now with a right-wing fundi on the Supreme Court) they just may start reversing all our rights that we’ve worked hard to win that you take advantage of, but aren’t willing to support because you continue to vote against your better interests FOR FINANTIAL WEALTH. You losers are traitors to the LGBTQ community.
SnakeyJ
@Phillip: Keeping more of the money I earned in my own pocket is a big issue, especially seeing how far left the Democrats seem to be going. My parents came from a Communist country and I would visit when I was younger. That kind of power over people corrupts leaders. Line ups for food. If you manage to save up enough to buy a house, the government dictates the type of house you can have, including the color of the bricks. Meanwhile the leaders live the good life.
radiooutmike
You may also just to consider that these out people; weren’t out four years ago or perhaps, just identified as straight for the path of least resistance.
charmin88
Nothing but a bunch of idiots. I honestly feel that sometimes people go out of their way to just go against the grain just to say “we have our own minds” but in reality your a distraction and whatever the gay version for c00n is because they dont care about your right. In fact barrett was appointed on the Supreme court to do just that. Take away YOUR RIGHTS! Bunch of clowns
barryaksarben
You are right. Older gays should know better as we fought so hard for these rights to let the younger gays just let them be so easily taken away. Gay marriage has angered the right so badly that it is one of their highest priorities to do away with it.
Liquid Silver
$$$$.
Usually, anyway. If money trumps (pardon the pun) gay, they vote Republican. For the same reason, lots of rich people figure they can buy their daughters an abortion as a D&C or fly them to New York State or, at worst, France.
Chambers
I can guess. Because they are racists. Racism is so alive in the LGBT community it is very disturbing.
david_warner
I don’t believe that for one hot second. Whatever the poll this came from, it’s clearly fraught with biased.
Tombear
Let’s call a spade a spade, Biden won and Trump being the baby he is will go out kicking and screaming. I will be happy when the orange turd is flushed down the toilet!
Mario Golden
You have absolutely no idea? That says a lot. Trump clearly stands for a white supremacist agenda.
Donston
I mean, some folks are born and raised in Conservatism. That often doesn’t go away just because you’re “queer”. Neither does wanting to keep as much money in your large bank account as possible at all costs. Neither does things like racism, xenophobia, white supremacy, internalized homophobia/anti-gay principles, toxic masculinity, a desire to fit in with “straights” (we all know how desperate many trauma filled “queers” are to fit in with “straights” and get validation from traditional masculinity).
However, these polls are pretty much nonsense. The amount polled tends to be way too small to draw any real conclusions. While we know it’s difficult to come up with any real stats concerning “queers” because of the amount of closeted people and because of things like fluidity, the gender and orientation spectrum, and people identifying as whatever they want. So, those numbers are sketchy at best. But in general we need to stop viewing everyone that’s not entirely “straight” and hetero and cis gender as some “common community”.
rray63
Interesting, how do we reconcile that with say, Hollywood Elites? Mostly white. They spend more on accountants and tax lawyers than most of us make in five years. Do they get the same treatment as you are heaping on people that don’t agree with us? Or perhaps they don’t like the herd mentality?
xiphoid76
The reason is simple, being gay does not define me. I am also a strong supporter of the police and feel that safety was the most important issue to me this election.
I also do not support lockdowns as they can cause so many unanticipated deaths from those scared to seek out medical care, suicides and drug overdoses. Both issues caused me to vote for Trump this time. I am shocked more gay people who have lived they AIDS would be ok with the government telling you what you can do with your body. I would have thought the number of LGBT voting for Trump would be much higher.
Texasholdem
What has Trump/ the police done to lower hate crimes against lgbtq people?
Joshooeerr
If you can’t see that all kinds of violence and unrest has increased under Trump, then you need to go and thoroughly review the actual statistics. Violent crime has steadily diminished in most places over the past two decades, until Trump. Emboldening racist police practices, endorsing gun-toting vigilantes and militias, and fostering hate toward all kind of minorities (from trans to immigrants) is hardly a recipe for a safer society.
Donston
“I support the police” aka I really don’t care all that much about the nuances of systemic oppression, profiling, racial unrest. And you know damn well you’re not ”scared”. Stop the nonsense reasoning. No type of social divisions can heal under Trump.
Trump has no real power over the lockdowns. And you’re really that bitchy about having to have to wear a mask?
Your reasoning just comes off as narcissism, privilege and willful ignorance. But it’s also nothing unusual.
Cam
Another screename for the bigoted troll trying to hide the words “Hate, Bigotry and bullying” behind the words “Different opinions”.
AZ71
I dont believe a single poll anymore. How do we know they are truly LGBT? They can just click that on a form or phone call? Polling was so off this year I think there was some quiet, underground movement among Trumpsters to just throw off everything.
Prax07
Really wish these gays for Trump and everyone else that voted for the turd would all just get Covid, or something more lethal, and die off. They’re no value to society, no value as humans, they’re just garbage.
rray63
Wow and here I thought we were the voices of reason and tolerance.
Openminded
Prax, Seriously? So I guess it’s o.k. for straight people to state that they wish all gays would get AIDS and die. Everybody has their right to speak their truth and vote their mind. Just because you or me don’t agree doesn’t mean we should wish them dead.
johnnymcmxxx
What’s there to figure? There are Gay bigots too. I figured out I had some and I’ve dumped them. Of course the 1%er Gays would go for trump too. Their money & tax breaks are more important to them than justice for all. Even their own.
cuteguy
All these self hating gays who voted for Trump need serious help with a therapist who likes a challenge
minbari
Like chickens for Chic-fil-A. Sad. 🙁
WashDrySpin
Rest assured 99% of them are white and if they are POC then they have a need for white gay love in their life…
White gays have and continue to use their white male privilege to the hilt…
TheAbsoluteTRUTH
Actually the truth is just like hispanics and some blacks we don’t have to live on your democratic liberal victim plantation, and as years go on more will join us.
Cam
Oh, you switched screenames to come back here and defend anti-LGBTQ bigots.
You don’t fool anyone troll.
Dick Gozinia
Didn’t we just learn that polls are b#lls#!t? Not a single poll predicted how many Republicans would turn out to vote. I’m not going to believe a non-random sampling of 16k people in cities that are not named. e.g. Was the exit polling done in Alabama or New York City? You’d get vastly different results.
whakjob
I’m not certain of the total percentage, but I am certain that those who voted for him are self-loathing queers. I’ve got news for you. Just cause you vote Republican, doesn’t make you straight.
tameron1
First of all I do not believe the polls. Polling only succeeds when those answering the poll are honest. There is no way to verify this.
These Gay Trumpsters who continue to defend this wannabe dictator and mafia-type criminal have no reason for their support of him other than their own internalized desires having to do with a strong “daddy” type or other perceived “strong men” types with inflated authoritarian personalities. I don’t know any gay men who outwardly hate themselves except Gay Republicans who tend to have addictive and self destructive natures.
Trump is no friend to the gay community and anyone who thinks so is delusional or has been indoctrinated by the fascist right-wing. These people would never recognize their indoctrination into the Trump cult of personality. I know this because I have interviewed them and no form of reasoning works.
Mack
There are some LGBTQ who supports Trump, I know my ex from 45 years ago does. The 28% is not accurate since they didn’t poll early voting or mail in voting (which in Nevada alone were most of the votes), and there are a lot of LGBTQs in Nevada.
tjr101
A significant amount of Trump supporters are racist so of that group there will be gay. If you’re a rich white guy that happens to be gay, there’s a good chance you’ll vote Republican because of tax cuts and social exclusivity and well you just don’t care about anything or anyone else.
rray63
So by that logic the Hollywood Elites secretly voted for Trump, right? I pointed out earlier that the big name elitist in Hollywood have lawyers and accountants that cost more than we make in five years to keep from paying any more taxes than the bare minimum. I guess I’m a troll for asking this though, correct?
Ginger Tom
It could always be as simple as they are attracted to Trump and would like to get up close and personal with Il Duce. Authoritarian leaders have a certain sexual appeal for some followers. I find it hard to believe but I keep an open mind.
Openminded
I’d say this poll was about as accurate as the polls that predicted Biden would win in a giant Blue Wave. His win is going to be by a tiny ripple. With the insane amount of robo calls and hawkers trying to sell something these days, I simply hang up the phone or walk away from salesmen who approach me. IDK how many may have been pollsters but I’m sure some have been. There’s really no good way to get an accurate pulse of the people anymore. Most people stay at home and when they do venture out, it’s to places relevant to their likes or lifestyle. Gone are the spots where everybody gathers.
This poll may have been in a voting precinct near a gay neighborhood or in a wealthier neighborhood, either of which could skew the results. Maybe it’s time the LGBT community realizes there are more conservatives among them than they realize or simply more people are comfortable enough to speak the truth about their sexual orientation.
Kangol2
The margin of victory won’t be a blue wave, but Biden currently is 4 million votes ahead in the popular vote (now 73.6 million total) and his margin of victory keeps increasing. That’s more than Hillary’s 2.8 million “loss” or W Bush’s 3 million vote squeaker win in 2004. Biden and Harris will have received more votes than any other presidential candidate in US history, besting even his former running mate, Barack Obama, who set the previous record at 69 million in 2008. His final percent total will be close to W Bush’s 50.7; it’s now 50.5. At any rate, this year the polls were widely off in most parts of the US, for a variety of reasons, and who knows what the LGBTQ vote was, but I don’t doubt a sliver of LGBTQ people voted for him.
ingyaom
This finding makes perfect sense – Democrat Gays are too smart to vote in person and get exit-polled – we stayed home and voted by mail!
lewisryan
UK citizen here, still doubt I’d vote for Trump. I actually like the few statistics in this article to give us some understanding. It feels there’s an issue with the headline and lacking elsewhere. Every news outline is swayed one way or another, but Queerty just feels like a catty opinion board. The article should’ve been full of arguments as to why these people did vote for Trump, even if they’re ridiculous (to us personally), it would be an informed article. Perhaps measured up with policies and laws that the Trump Administration have put in place to advocate or take away rights for LGBTQ+ people. That would’ve been a good read and less of a bitchy eye roll. Especially for people who aren’t well informed. A news article is a great way to educate and inform. I feel like Queerty does neither.
jami_h30
Lol, here we go again. It’s an exit poll, it means shit, especially on this election as around 100 milloin voted by mail because of covid.
Cam
Once again, The exit polls were taking on election day. The majority of Democrats voted before election day. So that 28% number is very inflated.
aussie bloke
Being LGBTIQ+ is no guarantee of wisdom, compassion or critical analysis and it sure as hell doesn’t exclude bigotry, xenophobia or ugly self-interest.
The real question that begs is: how do we co-exist with people who are politically, socially, even ethically at odds with us including those from within our own communities.
There was no huge repudiation. No facile option to demonise and reject as irrelevant the millions upon millions who chose to vote Republican and they are all around you.
Sending love and strength to you, America. You’re gonna need it.
wikidBSTN
Well, it’s official then. 28% of gay Americans are dumb a-holes.
Openminded
Does that mean 72% are Smart A’s?
Tombear
OK, people, some basic Economics. Historically the stock market has done better under a Democrat administration than a Republican Presidential administration. Fact check me if you don’t believe me.
justsimple
28%
According to this article. Yet the writer of the article in many of the comments are saying it’s wrong that the LGBTQ demographic supports Donald Trump.
Who are we to tell everybody else who does support.
Putting people down for voting it’s just like forcing somebody back into a closet
Everybody has a right to vote for who they want and feel how they want. That’s what we fought for.
We should not judge individuals based on their political preferences, that’s just hypocrisy.
Our community should be better than that and not force gay Republicans into a closet and make them ashamed of how they politically feel.
We may not all agree on everything, but through education and support we should all come together and listen to each other.