Poll shows Americans care more about affordability than attacking trans people

This story originally appeared on Them.

For all the Republicans who are trying to make attacks on transgender rights front and center during the 2026 midterm elections, the reality is that most voters do not care.

A new poll from GLAAD, timed to release at the start of LGBTQ+ Pride Month, asked a sample of over 5,000 adults in the U.S. about their top concerns as we head into a heated political season leading up to the November midterm elections.

As right-wingers continue to push attacks on trans people at all levels of government — and with Trump flagging last year that anti-trans attacks would be the GOP’s midterm strategy — it turns out that the GOP’s rhetoric is falling on uninterested ears: Only 8% of voters labeled trans issues as a top concern.

In fact, most voters would prefer if politicians focused their energies elsewhere. Forty-four percent of registered voters in the poll said that inflation and the increasing cost of living are their number one concern.

Meanwhile, in terms of social issues, rather than making more laws that discriminate — such as the record number of proposed laws nationwide targeting trans people — almost 75% of people polled said they would support a midterm candidate who says “we all deserve the freedom to live our lives without fear or discrimination.” Meanwhile, seven in 10 would prefer a candidate who focuses more on lowering the cost of living than focusing on trans issues and restricting trans rights.

In fact, 65% of respondents in the poll said that they felt that politicians often scapegoat trans people as a distraction from other issues.

Aside from politics, the poll also asked respondents their feelings regarding the attacks on DEI and the noticeably fewer number of companies who are publicly aligning themselves with LGBTQ+ people or sponsoring LGBTQ+ brands during the second Trump administration. Of those polled, 68% said brands and companies should be able to support LGBTQ+ people if they want to, while 62% said they are fine with brands marching in Pride parades. A similar number believe that corporate support for LGBTQ+ Pride helps with the acceptance of queer and trans people.

Importantly, more than three-quarters of those polled said that they trust a brand that sticks up for its values and what is right, even if it is controversial.

“These results confirm what most Americans already believe: we are at our best when we treat our friends, family, and neighbors with basic dignity and respect,” GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement accompanying the poll results. “Voters are tired of divisive culture wars that distract from the real issues keeping families up at night like the skyrocketing costs of housing, fuel, healthcare, and groceries.”