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CV NEWS FEED // Campaign ads addressing transgender issues played a significant role in shifting voter support toward Donald Trump and Republican candidates in the 2024 election, a new poll conducted by Cygnal and released Nov. 26 by the American Principles Project (APP) indicates.
The survey, conducted Nov. 11-13 among 1,500 voters nationwide, shows a strong correlation between exposure to ads on these cultural issues and support for Trump.
The poll highlights that over half of voters recalled seeing or hearing advertisements about Democratic candidate Kamala Harris’s positions on transgender issues, including controversial policies such as support for “sex-change” procedures for minors, taxpayer-funded “sex-change” procedures for prisoners, and allowing men to compete in women’s sports. Among voters exposed to these ads, there was a marked shift toward Trump:
- 52% of voters who became aware of Harris’s support for “sex-change” procedures for minors were more likely to vote for Trump.
- 50% of voters who learned about Harris’s support for taxpayer-funded “sex-change” procedures for prisoners were more likely to back Trump.
- 47% of voters who were made aware of Harris’s stance on allowing men to compete in women’s sports moved toward Trump.
- 45% of voters who saw the Trump campaign’s ad with the message “Kamala is for they/them and Trump is for you” expressed greater support for Trump.
The survey also found broad public backing for Republican positions on these cultural issues. For example, 54% of voters support laws prohibiting men from competing in women’s sports, compared to 26% opposed. Additionally, 48% of voters favor banning sex changes for minors, while 34% are against such bans.
APP President Terry Schilling emphasized the effectiveness of these cultural issue-focused ads in a statement on the poll results.
Schilling declared, “The evidence is now incontrovertible: the culture war is a winner for Republicans.”
He pointed out that the GOP’s decision under Trump to directly confront Democrats on their “radical” stances regarding transgender issues played a pivotal role in the election outcomes.
“After trying and failing for years to neutralize cultural issues by avoiding them, the GOP under Trump finally went on offense and attacked Democrats on their radicalism, particularly on transgender issues,” he said. “The election results this year ought to speak for themselves, but as our polling shows, Republican ads had a major impact on voters, helping put Trump back into the White House and giving the GOP full control of Congress.”
Schilling described the Democrats’ approach to gender issues as a “massive political vulnerability” and urged Republicans to maintain pressure on Democrats.
“As the GOP prepares to take power in Washington next year,” Schilling stated, “we urge them not to forget the main lesson from the election and to keep the pressure on Democrats for as long as they continue to defend their extreme agenda.”
APP’s analysis of the poll results can be viewed here.
