Why the Gay Vote Matters: Obama

The gay vote won the election for Barack Obama in 2012.

While this might seem an extraordinary claim, consider that heterosexual voters split their votes 49/49, so the tie breaker went to the gay vote. Gay voters went for Obama 76-22, putting Obama over the top. Romney won straight Ohio and Florida votes, but lost the LGBT vote, and therefore the election.

This result also tells us a lot about the future, as only 1.6% of those over 65 are out as gay, while 6.4% of the young identify as LGBT. That means this effect will grow dramatically over the years.

While it was actually a broad coalition that won it for Obama, the gay community has finally arrived as one of America’s most important voting blocks. Call us the tie breakers.