Ads criticizing Kamala Harris on gender identity issues helped boost polling for Donald Trump: Poll

Campaign ads criticizing Vice President Kamala Harris over her positions on gender ideology issues helped sway voters in favor of former President Donald Trump, a newly released survey found.

A Cygnal poll carried out after the Nov. 5 election, the conservative American Principles Project found that voters who saw, read or heard the Democratic candidate's policies on transgender issues were more likely to break for Mr. Trump, a Republican.

“The evidence is now irrefutable: the culture war is a winner for Republicans,” Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project, said in a statement.

The poll offered support for what many political analysts have theorized: The gender identity issue hurt Ms. Harris and helped Mr. Trump in the campaign, in which Republicans and conservatives blasted Democrats over transgender rights.

For example, a memorable Trump campaign ad recommended Ms. Harris and two members of the Biden administration — one transgender and the other non-binary — with the kicker: “Kamala is for them/them. President Trump is for you.”

The survey showed that 52.8% of respondents were familiar with the slogan. Of those, 44.8% said they were more likely to vote for Mr. Trump, while 18.8% said it made them more likely to support Ms. Harris, and 35.1% said it made no difference.

Mr. Schilling said that after years of avoiding culture issues, “the Republican Party under Trump finally went on the offensive and attacked Democrats for their radicalism, especially on transgender issues.”

Mr. Trump convincingly won a second, non-consecutive term against Ms. Harris, capturing both the electoral and popular votes.

“This year's election results should speak for themselves, but as our polls show, Republican ads had a major impact with voters, putting Trump back in the White House and giving the Republican Party complete control of Congress,” said Mr. Schilling.

The latest APP poll shows that the culture war is a winner for the Republicans.

Americans have had enough of the Democrats' extremism. pic.twitter.com/dsF4y3UVOr

— American Principles  (@approject) November 27, 2024

The survey asked voters about three gender-related issues: male-to-female transgender athletes in women's sports; gender transition procedures for minors and taxpayer-funded transgender surgery for prisoners. On the sports issue, 49.1% of voters were aware of Ms. Harris' support for allowing scholastic athletes to compete on the basis of gender identity, and of those, 47% said the information made them more likely to vote for Mr. would vote for Trump.

And 15.7% said they were more likely to support Ms Harris, while 34.8% said her position on the issue made no difference.
On gender transitions for minors, the survey found that 48.8% of voters were aware of Ms. Harris' support for “gender change procedures for minors,” and 52% of them said they were more likely to do so would vote for Mr Trump.

A further 15.5% said they were more likely to support Ms Harris, while 30.7% said it made no difference.

Additionally, the poll found that 57.2% of voters were familiar with Ms. Harris' position in favor of taxpayer-funded gender transition procedures for prisoners.

Of those, 49.6% said they were more likely to vote for Mr. Trump, while 11.7% said it made them more likely to support Ms. Harris, and 37.4% said it made no difference.

The survey also found that voters supported banning gender transition procedures for minors by 47.8% to 33.7%, and banning biological males who identify as women in women's sports by 54.2% to 26.2% .

“As the Republican Party prepares to take power in Washington next year, we urge them not to forget the most important lesson of the election and to keep the pressure on Democrats as they continue to push their extreme agenda ”, said Mr Schilling.

The poll of adults conducted Nov. 11 to 13 who cast ballots for the Nov. 5 election showed 48.7% voting for Mr. Trump. Trump and 46.8% who supported Ms. Harris.