Subject: Re: Mob boss Trump
While a single issue poll shows what people (or specific groups of people) like or dislike about that single issue, a poll asking what issues do you think are most important when you vote for someone, gives better relative value of importance for that issue.

Yep - and your poll explains a big reason why the Democrats lost in 2024. And why they're going to have a lot of problems going forward.

The topline issues are obvious and have been much-discussed: the electorate was much more concerned about issues the Democrats were then polling poorly on (the economy, immigration, crime); contrast that with 2020, where they were more concerned with issues that the Democrats were polling well on (like healthcare and the response to the coronavirus).

But looking at the bottom of the list reveals another symptom. You're right that the very least important was transgender issues. However, what's down there with that issue, the second-least important issue to voters?

Climate change.

The modern Democratic party regards fighting climate change as one of its highest priorities, and the current electorate regards it as one of their lowest priorities. The Democrats are going to struggle until they can resolve that disconnect, because unlike many other issues, "climate change" informs every aspect of Democratic economic policy.

Why didn't the Inflation Reduction Act help Biden's political prospects? Because when push came to shove and the Democrats had to prioritize, they decided that most of the money should go to things that reduced climate change rather than any of the other stuff in the BBB laundry list - even though those other things were both more important to working-class people and could have had a quicker impact, rather than being mostly unspent years later. Voters correctly intuited that the Democrats cared more about fighting climate change than almost any other economic policy - which is why the Democrats poll extremely well on climate change but it doesn't translate into votes. Voters trust Democrats on health care and climate change, and while the former is sometimes a very salient issue, climate change is never a very salient issue.

Unfortunately for Democrats, it's hard to see that changing going forward. Greens are among the more powerful members of the Democratic coalition, especially among the progressive faction of the party that is jockeying for more power in the current infighting.