Napolitan News Service Survey (perceptions of Republican and Democratic leaders) · Feb 25–26, 2026 · US national
perception of whether Democratic leaders favor letting trans people use the bathrooms and locker rooms of their choice
Please think for a few minutes about most Democratic political leaders. Regardless of what you believe, do most Democratic political leaders favor or oppose each of the following?
Allowing transgender people to use the bathrooms and locker rooms of their choice
Favor (total) 54%
Wording notes: measures perception of another group's position, not the respondent's own view | the trans item is bracketed by 'government run, single payer health care' and 'celebrating abortions as good things', the latter a hostile caricature, which colours the whole battery | 'bathrooms and locker rooms of their choice' is the restrictive-side rendering of the position
loaded_terms — the battery mixes plainly stated positions with caricatures ('celebrating abortions as good things'), so the trans item is answered in a context that has already signalled that these are the out-group's extreme positions; the paired Republican battery is loaded symmetrically, which is a deliberate design but still shapes each item
perception of whether Democratic leaders favor letting trans women play women's sports
Please think for a few minutes about most Democratic political leaders. Regardless of what you believe, do most Democratic political leaders favor or oppose each of the following?
Allowing biological men who identify as women to participate in women's sports
Favor (total) 49%
Wording notes: 'biological men who identify as women' used to describe the position attributed to Democratic leaders | measures perception, not the respondent's own view | sits directly before 'celebrating abortions as good things' in the same battery
loaded_terms — the position is stated in the language of its opponents, so respondents are asked whether Democratic leaders hold a view described in terms those leaders would reject; that mismatch is the finding the release builds on