American voters have a lot on their minds this election season, and apparently, gender identity isn’t at the top of the list. With the midterm elections approaching, a new CNN poll suggests that the economy, inflation, health care, and voting rights matter considerably more to voters than policies concerning transgender people. In other words, politicians can keep arguing about who’s allowed to use which bathroom, but voters still have bills to pay.
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And with Christmas approaching, there’s another question worth asking: Can Americans even afford the holidays this year?
It might sound like an unusual way to look at an election, but consider the reality of household budgets. If groceries cost more, rent eats up a bigger chunk of your paycheck, and there’s barely enough left after paying the bills, your biggest political concern probably isn’t a campaign ad about transgender athletes. It might be whether you can afford presents, a decent Christmas dinner, or a little something for yourself after another exhausting year.
For plenty of voters, the holiday budget could become a surprisingly useful measure of how they feel about the economy — and whether they want the people currently in charge to remain in power.
Gender Identity Ranks Last Among Voter Priorities
According to the CNN poll, conducted by independent research company SSRS on September 16 and 17, just 46% of registered voters rated policies concerning gender identity as either “extremely” or “very” important to their congressional vote in November.
The survey included 1,206 U.S. adults, including 867 registered voters. Its margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3.5 percentage points for all adults and 4.1 points for registered voters.
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Gender identity ranked last among the issues surveyed. While 25% of registered voters considered it extremely important and 21% considered it very important, 22% rated it moderately important. Another 32% said it was not that important — the highest share recorded for any issue in the poll.
Compare those figures with the issues that appear to be weighing more heavily on voters.
The economy topped the list, with 68% calling it extremely important to their congressional vote. Voting rights and election integrity followed at 61%, while inflation came in at 60%. Health care reached 54%, and immigration stood at 50%.
The findings don’t mean Americans have stopped caring about gender identity or that transgender rights no longer matter. They do suggest, however, that when voters are deciding which party should represent them in Congress, other concerns are taking priority.
And honestly, it’s not difficult to understand why.
The Christmas Budget Could Be an Election Issue
Imagine heading into December knowing that your usual Christmas budget will have to be slashed because everyday expenses have swallowed up your disposable income. Suddenly, the economy isn’t an abstract political talking point. It’s the difference between buying gifts for your family and telling everyone that this year, Christmas is going to be a little more modest.
That financial pressure can shape how people think about the government and the direction the country is heading. If voters believe their economic situation has deteriorated, they may look for candidates promising a change.
The CNN poll offers some context for that frustration. Two-thirds of U.S. adults said President Donald Trump’s policies had worsened economic conditions, while just 21% said they had improved them.
Trump’s overall job approval rating stood at 33%, with 67% disapproving. His ratings were particularly poor on inflation, at 20%, and the economy, at 27%.
Those numbers don’t prove that Christmas spending will determine anyone’s vote. But they illustrate why household finances could become a powerful factor in how Americans approach the midterms.
For a voter worried about making ends meet, a better economy may be a more immediate concern than a politician’s position on gender identity. The two aren’t mutually exclusive, of course. Someone can care deeply about transgender rights while also worrying about the cost of groceries and whether there’s enough money left for the holidays.
Still, when the budget is stretched to its limit, the issue that most directly affects a family’s daily life may carry the most weight at the ballot box.
Republicans Keep Making Transgender Issues a Campaign Battleground
Despite gender identity ranking last in the poll, Republicans continue to use transgender-related issues in campaign advertising, including attacks linking Democratic candidates to transgender participation in sports and transition-related surgeries for minors.
The strategy is intended to portray Democrats as out of step with voters’ values. But the poll raises a reasonable question: How effective can that strategy be if voters are more concerned about their finances, health care, and election integrity?
Democrats, meanwhile, face a complicated political calculation. They must decide how to respond to anti-transgender advertising while maintaining support from liberal and LGBTQ voters and appealing to Americans with more traditional views on gender.
Some Democrats have adopted Republican framing on transgender issues. U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, for example, has faced attention for her campaign’s anti-transgender advertising. Former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, also of Ohio, has taken a different approach, criticizing Republicans for focusing on transgender issues while voters face other concerns. Other Democrats have largely avoided the subject, redirecting conversations toward different policy priorities.
Whether these approaches will help or hurt candidates remains to be seen. The poll does not establish that voters will reject candidates because of their transgender-related campaign messaging, nor does it tell us how people feel about every individual policy. What it does show is that gender identity ranks below several other issues in stated voting priorities.
That distinction matters. A campaign can spend heavily on an issue without making it the deciding factor for most voters.
LGBTQ Rights Still Matter, Even When the Economy Comes First
For LGBTQ Americans, the findings may be frustrating. Gender identity policies have real consequences for transgender people, including their ability to participate in public life without having their existence turned into a campaign talking point. Seeing the issue rank last doesn’t make those concerns disappear.
But there’s also a practical lesson here: voters can care about more than one thing at a time.
An LGBTQ voter can want protections for transgender people and still be furious about rising prices. A parent can support their transgender child and worry about health care costs. Someone who believes in equal rights can also want a government that makes everyday life more affordable.
Those priorities don’t cancel each other out.
The poll also found that 49% of registered voters favored a Democratic candidate on a generic congressional ballot, compared with 41% who favored a Republican. Additionally, 44% viewed their November vote as a message of opposition to Trump, while 19% saw it as a message of support. The remaining 37% said their vote would not send a message about the president.
These findings suggest that economic concerns and broader views of the administration could play an important role in the election. They don’t guarantee an outcome, but they offer a reminder that voters are weighing a range of issues beyond the ones dominating campaign advertisements.
Maybe Politicians Should Worry About Christmas First
There’s something almost absurd about watching politicians devote so much energy to transgender people while voters are calculating how much they can spend on dinner, gifts, and the other expenses that make December feel like December.
Gender identity may be a convenient campaign weapon, but a weapon isn’t necessarily a winning argument. If voters are more worried about inflation, health care, and the state of the economy, repeatedly pushing transgender issues could leave candidates talking about one thing while their constituents are worrying about another.
And yes, Christmas might matter more than gender identity in this election — at least when it comes to what some voters prioritize. Not because transgender rights are trivial, but because financial insecurity is immediate, personal, and difficult to ignore.
The CNN poll cannot tell us how many Americans will change their votes because they can’t afford their usual holiday spending. It does, however, show that gender identity policies rank below the economy, voting rights, inflation, health care, and immigration in voters’ stated priorities.
Politicians might want to take note before producing another round of attack ads.
Because when November arrives, voters won’t just be thinking about which party they want in Congress. They’ll also be thinking about their paychecks, their bills, and what kind of December they can afford.
And if a politician wants to win their vote, promising a future in which people can actually afford to live might be a better place to start than turning transgender Americans into another campaign talking point.
Source: MetroWeekly