According to Washington Post exit polling data, about half of Colorado women voted for President Barack Obama and half voted for candidate Mitt Romney. In 2008, far more women voted for President Obama than Senator John McCain. In fact, there was a 15% difference between the two candidates. The gender gap between female and male voting patterns was substantial with men voting for McCain in greater numbers than Obama.
This election, the gender gap was lower than in 2008, but it was still pronounced at the national level and in most of the swing states. In Colorado, however, the gender gap all but disappeared.
What makes Colorado women different?
As a Colorado native who has visited every other state but one (sorry North Dakota) and lived on the East Coast for a time, I have a good perspective about what makes Colorado women different. It seems to me that Colorado women are more independent-minded. We’re just as comfortable in blue jeans as a business suit. We like the symphony and a good powder day. We have one of the highest levels of college education attainment, but we don’t put on airs about degrees or income. We know good green chili and when someone is trying to pull our leg. We can be fooled, but not usually twice.
This independent spirit showed in the 2012 election. The War on Women hoax perpetrated by some politicians managed to persuade some Colorado women this time around but not nearly as many as it did at the national level. Back in November I heard one woman say, “Romney is scary” and when I asked her why, she didn’t have an answer. I never heard her repeat it.
All it took was a question to puncture a hole in the Left’s narrative. I wasn’t the only woman asking why this election. A lot of Colorado women were asking questions about why the unemployment rate was so high, why we had nothing to show for billions in stimulus funding and corporate handouts, and why the government was meddling in our health care. The questions remained unanswered and those politicians didn’t get our votes.
So why do you think Colorado women are different?