Gatekeeping in Organized Labor: Union Leader Evaluations of LGBTQ Candidates

Political representation depends not only on voters but also on political gatekeepers who recruit, endorse, and support candidates. Despite growing attention to LGBTQ representation, little is known about how organized labor evaluates LGBTQ candidates. This study examines candidate evaluations among 162 union leaders involved in political endorsement decisions using an original survey experiment. Respondents evaluated five comparable candidates: a heterosexual man, a gay man, a transgender woman, a Black transgender woman, and a nonbinary candidate. Overall, LGBTQ candidates were evaluated favorably. The gay male candidate received slightly higher evaluations than the heterosexual candidate, while transgender and nonbinary candidates received similar ratings. However, significant ideological differences emerged. Progressive and moderate union leaders evaluated transgender and nonbinary candidates more favorably than conservatives, while greater familiarity with transgender issues also increased support. Although perceptions of LGBTQ candidate electability predicted support for all candidates, electability did not explain transgender candidate penalties.