Donald Trump says transgender people will "end" if GOP keeps Congress in midterms
(www.lgbtqnation.com)
That's exactly why this is a favorite political issue now.
Abortion has also been very reliable for decades.
These are "small ticket" issues that aren't financially lucrative, and they'd rather have this argument than discussion of our military invasions, the FED, wages, universal healthcare, and other "big ticket" issues.