The race of Virginia governors has been intensifying, with one topic being the issue of transgender, at the forefront and center of the political advertising war. The contest is opposed to the current lieutenant colonel by former Democrat Rep. Abigail Spanberger. Spanberger focuses on campaigns on federal cuts and rising costs of living for Virginia families, but Earl Sears saturated the airwaves with millions of anti-trans ads. Now, a new poll shows Spanberger is pulling first. That means it also reveals that transgender issues are sitting at the very bottom of federal voters’ concerns.
new Hill/Emerson College polls Spanberger leads Aerle-Sears 10 points overall, showing a big margin. Among independent voters, the gap widens further, with Spanberger rising 19 points. The vote also provides important insight into why Spanberger is moving forward. When asked about issues that played a major role in this campaign, the majority ranked economy, education and healthcare as the best concerns, with 80-90% saying these issues are important. In contrast, the majority of respondents said that transgender issues are not important. This is the only problem in the competition to receive such a rating.
You can see the results here.
When you look Cross stubthe dynamics become clearer. Transgender issues rarely drive Virginia outcomes in the direction of Earl Sears. The majority of voters find issues that are generally not important, but those who prioritize them aren’t necessarily in line with Earl Sears. Many of them support trans rights, so they may think that is important. In fact, 56% of Democrats say that transgender issues are important. It has a higher share than Republicans. Independents, on the other hand, have overwhelmingly curbed the problem, with 61% calling it unimportant. That lack of concern helps explain why independents are so broken for Spanberger, who has focused on core issues like the economy and healthcare.
Despite the polls, Earl Sears has leaned heavily towards anti-trance ads. Only in September, she spent 2 million dollars for them – More than the other issues in the race. One spot where Virginia’s radio waves recycled tactics from the 2024 campaign declared Spanburger was for “them/them” and flash images of transgender and genderless Biden officials.
Earl Sears is skating in the polls and some Republican strategists are questioning her methods, former Republican Virginia Governor Bill Boring Post to Facebook, “Winsome Earle Sears is on a new TV ad. Do you want to guess what it is? Do you want to guess that? You guessed it, another ad on transgender issues! Does Virginians offer anything about these issues?”
Many political strategists look closely at Virginia. In 2021, Republican Glenn Youngkin campaigned anti-trance as the centre of his run, helping out a new era of politically focusing on the issue after winning the governor’s seat. If Virginia was once a positive outlook in the effectiveness of these tactics, it could now be a pioneer in their decline. Voters who once responded to anger towards transgender people may now feel the stab of a policy that has continued – policies that have few to improve the economy, education, or cost of living. If Earl Sears rides the same playbook and fails to win, it’s not just Republicans banking on anti-trans politics. It also steals Democrats who argue that sacrifice trans rights is the only way to win.
Trans people, those who care about them, and those who love them too. But the number of them is very small. It is tragic to be so unfairly vilified and lightly paraded to be characterized by an inhuman language simply used as a political punching bag.
Unfortunately for us, the agenda is a double-edged sword. The public is not whipped by anti-trans hysteria. But they don’t consider how I vote for people who are harmed me. We need to overcome their indifference and win them as true ally.
Source: Advocate.com – www.advocate.com
