Who Voted for Hillary Clinton? Sexual Identities, Gender, and Family Influences

ABSTRACT

Sexual identities can influence political attitudes and actions. During political elections, gay men, lesbians, and bisexual individuals (GLB) have historically aligned with Democratic candidates. In the recent presidential election of 2016, this pattern persisted, as the vast majority of GLBs voted with the Democratic candidate for president in the 2016 elections (Hillary Clinton). This study tries to explain why lesbians and gay men overwhelmingly voted for candidate Clinton through Patrick Egan's (2012) theory of political distinctiveness. In using data the American National Election Survey of 2016 (N = 2,691), this analysis determines if the tendency of sexual minorities to vote Democratic was due to three sets of variables: (a) selection, or the characteristics associated with GLB identities are also associated with political liberalism; (b) embeddedness, or increased involvement in the LGB community leads to greater liberalism; and (c) conversion, or public disclosures of LGB identities causes major changes in political outlooks and actions. Special attention is also give to the intersectional concerns of gendered heterosexism, given that voting for Hillary Clinton was the highest among lesbian women and lowest among heterosexual men.