Former President Donald Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris to become the next U.S. president, NBC News predicted, but he did not do so with the help of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender voters.
According to the NBC News Exit Poll, LGBT voters have shifted even more firmly into the Democratic camp this year. Harris led President-elect Trump 86% to 12% among LGBT voters, the poll found. That’s a 15-point change from 2020, when Trump won 27% of the LGBT vote against Biden.
Harris’ performance among LGBT voters was stronger than that of any Democratic candidate in the last five presidential elections.
Although Republican vice presidential candidate Senator J.D. Vance predicted that he and Trump would win the “normal gay vote,” the Republican Party’s presidential ticket attracted fewer than 1 in 5 male LGBT voters, although that figure also included bisexual and transgender could include men. Trump’s support among LGBT female voters was even more tepid, at 8%. White LGBT people voted solidly for Harris over Trump, 82% to 16%, although Harris’ margin was even wider among LGBT voters of color, 91% to 5%.
Most LGBT voters said they would be “excited” (39%) or “optimistic” (43%) if Harris were elected president. In contrast, 62% of LGBT respondents said they would be “scared” if Trump won.
According to the exit poll, 8% of American voters identified as LGBT in 2024. That is the highest share ever measured. The percentage of the electorate that identifies as LGBT has doubled since Barack Obama was elected president in 2008, from 4%.
As in previous elections, LGBT voters stood out as one of the most left-wing voter blocs in the electorate. Among LGBT voters, Democrats easily outnumber Republicans, 56% to 5%, and liberals outnumber conservatives, 61% to 5%. LGBT voters are firmly in favor of freedom of choice: 59% believe abortion should be legal in all cases, and support for abortion rights is much higher than among non-LGBTs, at 31%.
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This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
