When asked about the more than 400 pieces of legislation working their way through statehouses, “aimed at limiting the rights of transgender and gay people in America,” 64 percent of respondents, including 55 percent of Republicans, sided with the statement “This is too much legislation. New polling from Data for Progress suggests that voters are starting to see the GOP’s efforts as just that. “If you overreach, you will do so at your own peril.” What polls show “What we’re trying to counsel Republicans is: Do not take this resurgence of parental rights and weaponize it into something that the voters truly can’t get their head around,” he said. Maron thinks there’s room for “commonsense” policies, arguing measures that inform and empower parents about what’s going on at school make sense - such as the “parental rights” bill that passed the House last week on a party-line vote - while laws that would ban gender-affirming care or regulate drag queens like strippers do not. “Women … don’t want to see people in society being picked on or marginalized, but, at the same time, if you come after their kids, they’re going to turn into mama bears.” “My prescription to the GOP would be: Tread very lightly on these issues, particularly as it deals with outreach to women,” Maron said. He thinks that has been the left - at least, so far. Voters will end up punishing the side that seems more extreme on the issue, said Charles Maron, president of the Log Cabin Republicans.

Republicans see many of these proposals as a natural backlash to rapidly changing societal norms around transgender issues that have, in some cases, gone from merely seeking acceptance to outright coaxing kids to transition. If it passed, the bill would ban an estimated 32 openly transgender NCAA athletes out of 480,000 total from playing on their preferred teams. The House Education Committee recently held a hearing on a bill that would amend Title IX to require student-athletes to compete based on their gender at birth. Republicans in Congress have followed suit with bills that would ban gender-affirming care for minors, prohibit schools from teaching students about gender identity without prior parental consent, and place limits on transgender individuals serving in the military. Republican legislators in at least 16 states have offered bills that would restrict or ban drag performances, many of which are written broadly enough to restrict nearly all public cross-dressing. Nineteen states have also banned transgender students from participating in school sports matching their gender identity. In at least five states, the GOP’s proposed gender-affirming care bans would also cover adults. At least 10 states have banned gender-affirming care for minors, and another 21 have introduced bills, even as multiple studies have found access to gender-affirming care reduces the risk of depression and suicide for trans children, who are more likely than not to have considered suicide. Republican lawmakers across the nation have introduced hundreds of bills targeting transgender individuals this year.

“They feel like it can help them win.”īut Lazarus thinks it’ll ultimately bite Republicans in general elections - unless “they somehow miraculously make the debate all about parents and we really don’t push back in a smart way.” “It’s clear that they think it’s a great idea,” said Ben Lazarus, a Democratic pollster at TargetSmart. “The tone of how this is handled is extremely important because the vast majority of people, regardless of their views on trans issues, don’t want to treat people, especially children, cruelly.” “If you’re talking about suburban parents who are concerned about what’s going on in their public schools, this is an area where I think that Republicans have a big opportunity,” said Dan Judy, a Republican pollster at North Star Opinion Research. Or it could end up hurting Republicans if voters think they’re just picking on a small, misunderstood set of individuals simply trying to live their lives. Pollsters and strategists from both parties largely agree: Focusing on transgender issues could help Republicans in the general election if independent voters see the GOP as defending commonsense school policies from “woke” gender ideology run amok. But analysts say all that enthusiasm for restricting the rights and health care of about 0.6 percent of Americans risks putting off swing voters. The Republican preoccupation with transgender issues, which has resulted in hundreds of bills at the state and federal levels, may excite the party’s evangelical base.

Emc research jane