WASHINGTON — Today, the Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ) released the following statement after Hillary Clinton was declared the winner in the South Carolina primary.
"Hillary Clinton proved yet again tonight that she is the pro-equality champion we can count on to win in November and continue to build on the progress the LGBT community has made under President Obama's leadership," said Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin. "The Republican candidates for president provide us with daily reminders of how much is at stake this election. In last week's debate, Trump, Rubio, and Cruz all raced to embrace the right to discriminate against LGBT Americans. Hillary Clinton has presented a clear vision for advancing equality and creating a better future for LGBT people across this nation. She has the record, the vision, the courage, and the strategy to win, and we will continue fighting right alongside her for the more just and equal world we seek."
The Human Rights Campaign has endorsed Hillary Clinton, opened an organizing office in Charleston and deployed staff to the state to organize members and supporters ahead of the Democratic primary. HRC previously sent staff to organize in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. Last weekend, HRC President Chad Griffin was also on the ground at organizing events in Columbia and Charleston, and spoke at the annual Charleston County Democratic Party Dinner.
With 1.5 million members and supporters nationwide, HRC is planning an unprecedented organizational effort to register and mobilize the nation's pro-equality majority, and elect pro-LGBT candidates up and down the ballot. In 2016, HRC expects that the pro-equality vote will be larger, stronger, and more energized than at any point in history.
Exit polls show that in 2012 at least six million LGB Americans voted in an election decided by less than five million votes. Today, in key states like Ohio, North Carolina, and Florida, the population of LGBT adults is greater than the average margin of victory in the last three presidential elections.
Polling done by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner for HRC shows that a 55 percent majority of voters are less likely to support a candidate for president who opposes allowing same-sex couples to marry. This majority includes Independents, married women and white millennials. All of these groups voted Republican in the last congressional election.
