WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 (UPI) — Hillary Clinton enjoys a wide gulf over Donald Trump in support from gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender individuals, a new Gallup polling analysis shows.
And unlike in the much larger pool of heterosexual voters, where race and gender have tended to be dividing lines in the election, with Trump attracting whites and men and Clinton attracting more women and racial minorities, no such disparity exists in the LGBT community.
In a Gallup analysis of its tracking poll from June through September among respondents who self-identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, 55 percent said they hold a positive view of Clinton, higher than her overall favorability rate of 41 percent in the Gallup poll.
Conversely, about one in eight members, 12 percent, of the LGBT community hold a favorable view of Trump.
Historically, Democrats typically enjoy wide support among the LGBT community. In 2012, President Barack Obama won 77 percent of the gay vote. Trump’s present 12 percent rating is well behind the 22 percent Obama’s opponent, Mitt Romney, earned four years ago.
And while the larger electorate has largely broken along lines of race in this year’s election, in the LGBT community, race appears not to be a factor.
Trump is viewed positively by 13 percent of white LGBT and 11 percent of non-white LGBT. Clinton is viewed favorably by 54 percent of white LGBT and 57 percent of non-white LGBT.
Gallup said about 5 percent of voters in its survey nationwide identified as LGBT.
Gallup reviewed answers by 2,200 individuals who identified themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender in its tracking poll in the third quarter of 2016. The poll carries a margin of error of 2 percentage points.
