One third of Republican voters think more LGBTQ+ people in Congress would be a ‘bad thing’
The United States Capitol Building, the seat of Congress, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. (Omar Chatriwala/Getty)
A new poll has found one third of Republican voters believe more LGBTQ+ people in congress would be a “bad thing”.
The results come from an Insider/Morning Consult survey, which was conducted between 8 September and 10 September, 2022.
The survey had just over 2,200 respondents and is part of Insider’s “Red, White, and Gray” project, which aims to explore how the US government is dominated by older people, and what that means for younger generations.
The poll found 34 per cent of Republicans felt having more LGBTQ+ representation in congress would be a “bad thing” – although an equal number felt it would have “no impact”.
In comparison, only 10 per cent of Democrat respondents to the survey felt increased representation would be a negative. Among Democrats, less then one in 10 women were opposed to more LGBTQ+ representation.
But the lowest percentage opposed to the suggested representation increase was among students and atheists, with just 5 per cent of the latter saying it would be a bad thing.
‘Massive gap’ between political viewpoints
Morning Consult senior reporter Eli Yokley said of the survey responses: “With representation, the only thing that stuck out to me is just the massive, massive gap about whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing to elevate LGBTQ Americans between Democrats and Republicans.
“The share who say it’s a bad thing, it’s like a third of Republicans say it’s a bad thing. That’s a pretty big number on that kind of question.”
A record number of openly queer lawmakers may occupy the next session of congress, since at least 101 LGBTQ+ people ran for US Congress in 2022.
According to the Victory Fund, this is a 16 per cent increase in LGBTQ+ candidates compared to 2020, when 87 people ran.
It follows the first openly gay Black congressman Mondaire Jones losing his seat to the heir of the Levi Strauss & Co fortune, Daniel Goldman in August this year.
