A Fox News poll released this week shows that less than 1% of respondents consider “wokeness” and transgender issues as the most important issue facing the country, and that a majority also prefer Democrats’ handling of trans issues over Republicans’.

A prominent trans journalist says the results show that Democrats can continue to support trans people in upcoming election cycles without fear of voter backlash.

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The poll, which was conducted by phone from April 17 to 20, found that 56% of respondents think Democrats would do a better job handling trans issues than Republicans; only 43% felt the opposite way — a 13% difference.

The groups that trusted Democrats’ handling of trans issues included 53% of men, 59% of women, 53% of white people, 77% of Black people, 59% of Hispanic people, between 56% and 60% of people aged under 30 and 65+ respectively, 88% of Democrats, 59% of Independents, 86% of liberals, 68% of people living in urban areas, 57% of people living in suburban areas, 63% of people with college degrees, 52% of people with no college degrees, 54% of Catholics, 50% of Protestants, and 54% of military members.

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Unsurprisingly, majorities of Republican, conservative, rural, and evangelical voters (as well as those who voted for Donald Trump in the last election) trusted Republicans’ handling of trans issues by margins of 65% to 78%.

Fewer than 1% of all voters said that “wokeness/transgender issues” was the most important issue facing the country — the result of their responses rounded to 0% in the survey’s results. Respondents felt similarly about the issues of tax policy, Social Security, abortion, gun violence, and school shootings.

Most respondents said the most important issues facing the country are inflation and the cost of living (26%), jobs (17%), political corruption (13%), and the Iran war (11%).

“The data points to a clear conclusion: Voters prefer the Democratic approach to transgender issues, they do not consider the issue a priority, and Republicans centering their campaigns on transgender issues often leads to losses,” trans journalist Erin Reed wrote in her analysis of the poll’s results.

“The administration can continue to target transgender people through executive orders, FCC actions, and federal declarations — but as these numbers show, they do so without the American Public’s support,” she continued. Comparatively, Democrats have said that federal anti-discrimination laws and the Supreme Court’s 2020 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County require the government and businesses to adopt trans-inclusive social policies to avoid sex-based discrimination.

Reed concluded that Democrats should take note that “running on support for transgender people is not the political liability it was made out to be in the aftermath of 2024,” commenting, “It is, as the data now consistently shows, a position the majority of voters find vastly more palatable than the Republican approach.”

During the 2024 election campaign, Republicans spent at least $215 million on anti-trans attack ads.

While Democratic politicians have largely supported trans-inclusive social policies, shortly after Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ electoral loss to Trump, two House Democrats, Reps. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) and Seth Moulton (D-MA) voiced support for anti-trans sports bans. Months later, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said he supports trans equality in everything but sports. All three politicians have previously supported bills protecting trans rights.

Despite the Fox News poll’s finding, a February poll found broad opposition to trans rights among registered voters, with only around a third of Americans supporting letting trans kids get puberty blockers with parental consent and a doctor’s recommendation, over half supporting requiring trans people to use the restroom associated with their sex assigned at birth, and 60% supporting trans sports bans.

The poll wasn’t an outlier. Recent polling has shown that even people who voted for Harris were more likely to support sports bans than oppose them.

In other words, polling shows lagging societal acceptance for trans rights, even though voters prefer Democrats’ handling of trans issues overall.

A majority of voters disapprove of the Trump administration

The poll found that 58% of all respondents disapprove of the jobTrump is doing as president, and 56% disapprove of his administration’s policies, competence, and effectiveness in managing the federal government, with the following disapproval ratings on various issues:

• 66% disapprove of his handling of the economy
• 72% disapprove of his handling of inflation
• 54% disapprove of his handling of immigration
• 63% disapprove of his handling of Iran
• 60% disapprove of his handling of foreign policy
• 67% disapprove of his handling of government spending

Additionally, 57% said Trump lacks the judgment to serve effectively as president, 60% said he lacks the temperament needed to serve effectively, 55% said he lacks mental effectiveness, and 63% said he doesn’t care about people like them.

Furthermore, 55% disapprove of the job JD Vance is doing as vice president, 56% disapprove of the job Marco Rubio is doing as secretary of state, 58% disapprove of the job Pete Hegseth is doing as secretary of defense, and 52% have an unfavorable view of First Lady Melania Trump.

The poll also found that 58% of respondents have an unfavorable view of both the Republican and Democratic parties, as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

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