GLAAD, ALLIANCE FOR FULL ACCEPTANCE RESPOND TO SC REPUBLICAN PRIMARY

(New York, NY, February 24, 2023) — Today GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) media advocacy organization, and the Alliance for Full Acceptance, which works to achieve, nurture, and defend equality and full acceptance for LGBTQ people in South Carolina. responded to the news that former President Trump has won the South Carolina Republican primary.

Chase Glenn (he/him), executive director of the South Carolina-based Alliance for Full Acceptance, issued the following statement in response to the news:

“As voters cast ballots in crucial primaries and we approach the general election, candidates should remember that targeting transgender people and deploying hurtful rhetoric at us is not a winning strategy. We are your family, neighbors, and faith community members. We want the same opportunity to live and succeed just like everyone else. When candidates use transgender people as a tool to win political points, they harm all Americans, especially youth. We need leaders who fight for all of us, not against any of us.”

Sarah Kate Ellis (she/her), GLAAD President and CEO, released the following statement in response to the news:

“This year’s presidential election is a much-needed opportunity for voters who are often shut out of election discourse to make our voices heard loudly and clearly. With a record-setting number of proposed anti-LGBTQ bills in states across the country and anti-LGBTQ vitriol being spewed by powerful elected officials, it’s more important than ever to register and show up to vote. Candidates must be accountable to their promises of upholding American values, including freedom, fairness, equal opportunity, and equal access — values that most strongly affect people who are Black, brown, LGBTQ, poor, or live in rural areas; and who are often disenfranchised. No one should underestimate voter turnout among those who have felt the burning sting of discrimination; and there’s no doubt we’ll see the same passion and turnout again in November.”

GLAAD has been tracking the records of all the major presidential candidates on LGBTQ people and the issues facing our community including Nikki Haley’s LGBTQ record here and Donald Trump’s history of 200+ attacks in policy and rhetoric here.

Several weeks ago, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris won the first Democratic primary of the season in South Carolina. GLAAD is tracking the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts for LGBTQ people in our Biden Accountability Tracker here.

GLAAD has also tracked how candidates’ false rhetoric and claims against LGBTQ people, especially transgender people, were prominent in previous Republican presidential primary debates, in September, November, and December. 2023 election returns in purple or red states like Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio show that voters marked their ballots in favor of pro-equality candidates and issues and showcased the failure of anti-transgender rhetoric in campaigns.

Other background and statistics:

• An estimated 167,000 LGBTQ people live in South Carolina, with 30% of LGBTQ adults in the state raising families.

• In 2020, roughly 540,000 ballots were cast in the South Carolina Democratic primary, which was an open election and heavily contested. South Carolina voters proceeded to hand a strong victory to President Joe Biden in 2020 as he swept all of the state’s 46 counties and eventually the party’s nomination, before ousting former President Trump in the general election.

• Polling and turnout analysis from the 2020 election indicate that LGBTQ voters played a deciding role in the victory of Joe Biden for President and in key battleground states.

• The highest percentage of LGBTQ people raising families in the U.S. are doing so in the South, in states like South Carolina (30%), Mississippi (34%), and Arkansas (36%).

Voters can check their voter registration and learn about key deadlines at www.glaad.org/vote.