The midterm elections are in our rearview mirror now –almost three weeks ago. From the 77 million Americans who cast their ballots we’re learning interesting things about the electorate including that there’s a shift among female voters.
The Washington Post’s Fix delves into the numbers and finds that the margin by which Democrats beat Republicans among women nationwide has narrowed sharply from 11 percent in 2012 to just 4 percent this cycle. The decline was far less precipitous than from 2008 to 2012.
There was a large sex-based gap (20 points) between men’s support for Republicans and women’s support for Democrats. Republicans won male voters 57 percent to 41 percent according to exit polls, which is slightly better than the 2010 midterms. According to National Journal, it is the largest recorded gap in the national House exit poll in two decades, since the 1994 elections.
In several individual state races, the sex gaps were larger. In New Hampshire, Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen won women by 19 percentage points while losing men by 11 points. In Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker carried men by 21 points while losing women by 9 points -another historic 30-point gap. Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan lost North Carolina despite winning among women by 12 percentage points, because she lost among men by 15 points.
A voting sex gap is apparent but even that has an asterisk. Both parties struggled this cycle with women, which suggests that like the youth demographic, no party has the female vote locked down.
Newsmax reports:
The “War On Women” (WOW) is officially over and the Democrats lost.
In race after race, Democrats seeking to hammer Republicans with “women’s issues” such as birth control and abortion found to their election outcome dismay that women, just like men, were more concerned with other issues — economics, security and leadership — allowing Republicans to make significant inroads into the female voter base…
…
The Washington Post commented, “The ‘sex gap’ did not turn out to be the potent force that Democrats had hoped it would be in Maryland and across the nation.”
In Colorado, Democratic Sen. Mark Udall pushed the WOW factor so hard that locals began referring to him as Mark Uterus, Fortune noted, but in the end, Republican Rep. Cory Gardner won.
…
“This election was also a stark reminder that women voters don’t care only about health issues. Reproductive rights don’t rank high on the list of female voter priorities, especially at a time when wages are stagnating and ISIS is beheading Americans,” Fortune noted.
Politichicks’ Morgan Brittany commented to WND, “‘The war on women’ is dead. It’s over. It was phony to begin with and it was a message that did not resonate with a large majority of American women.”
Citing a Washington Post poll which found that while females still voted more for Democrats than Republicans, at 51-47 percent, married women favored Republicans over Democrats by 54-44 percent, she said, “The message was loud and clear. National security, the economy and healthcare trumped $10 birth control, abortion and pay inequality.
Surprise! The “War on Women” rhetoric didn’t work. Trying to scare women into thinking that the private sector and conservatives are out to turn the clocks back on progress that women have achieved did not work. From the phony 77-cent wage gap statistic to abortion and contraceptives, women didn’t fall for the hype. Not only did women not defect from the Republican party but women already on the liberal side weren’t energized enough to turn out.
What’s clear is that liberals need to stop with this so-called “War on Women” and just talk to women about what they care about. At IWF, we’ve always held that all issues are women’s issues, not just the issues dealing with our reproductive systems and sexes. Women make many –if not most- of the spending decisions in our households. We care about the economy and national security just as we care about health issues.
Those candidates who don’t insult our intelligence and use scare tactics to incite fear are the ones who deserve and will win our votes.
“War on Women,” 2014: By the Numbers
New data from the midterm elections show a potential shift in female voters.
The midterm elections are in our rearview mirror now –almost three weeks ago. From the 77 million Americans who cast their ballots we’re learning interesting things about the electorate including that there’s a shift among female voters.
The Washington Post’s Fix delves into the numbers and finds that the margin by which Democrats beat Republicans among women nationwide has narrowed sharply from 11 percent in 2012 to just 4 percent this cycle. The decline was far less precipitous than from 2008 to 2012.
There was a large sex-based gap (20 points) between men’s support for Republicans and women’s support for Democrats. Republicans won male voters 57 percent to 41 percent according to exit polls, which is slightly better than the 2010 midterms. According to National Journal, it is the largest recorded gap in the national House exit poll in two decades, since the 1994 elections.
In several individual state races, the sex-based gaps were larger. In New Hampshire, Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen won women by 19 percentage points while losing men by 11 points. In Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker carried men by 21 points while losing women by 9 points -another historic 30-point gap. Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan lost North Carolina despite winning among women by 12 percentage points, because she lost among men by 15 points.
A voting sex gap is apparent but even that has an asterisk. Both parties struggled this cycle with women, which suggests that like the youth demographic, no party has the female vote locked down.
Newsmax reports:
The “War On Women” (WOW) is officially over and the Democrats lost.
In race after race, Democrats seeking to hammer Republicans with “women’s issues” such as birth control and abortion found to their election outcome dismay that women, just like men, were more concerned with other issues — economics, security and leadership — allowing Republicans to make significant inroads into the female voter base…
…
The Washington Post commented, “The ‘sex gap’ did not turn out to be the potent force that Democrats had hoped it would be in Maryland and across the nation.”
In Colorado, Democratic Sen. Mark Udall pushed the WOW factor so hard that locals began referring to him as Mark Uterus, Fortune noted, but in the end, Republican Rep. Cory Gardner won.
…
“This election was also a stark reminder that women voters don’t care only about health issues. Reproductive rights don’t rank high on the list of female voter priorities, especially at a time when wages are stagnating and ISIS is beheading Americans,” Fortune noted.
Politichicks’ Morgan Brittany commented to WND, “‘The war on women’ is dead. It’s over. It was phony to begin with and it was a message that did not resonate with a large majority of American women.”
Citing a Washington Post poll which found that while females still voted more for Democrats than Republicans, at 51-47 percent, married women favored Republicans over Democrats by 54-44 percent, she said, “The message was loud and clear. National security, the economy and healthcare trumped $10 birth control, abortion and pay inequality.
Surprise! The “War on Women” rhetoric didn’t work. Trying to scare women into thinking that the private sector and conservatives are out to turn the clocks back on progress that women have achieved did not work. From the phony 77-cent wage gap statistic to abortion and contraceptives, women didn’t fall for the hype. Not only did women not defect from the Republican party but women already on the liberal side weren’t energized enough to turn out.
What’s clear is that liberals need to stop with this so-called “War on Women” and just talk to women about what they care about. At IWF, we’ve always held that all issues are women’s issues, not just the issues dealing with our reproductive systems and sex. Women make many –if not most- of the spending decisions in our households. We care about the economy and national security just as we care about health issues.
Those candidates who don’t insult our intelligence and use scare tactics to incite fear are the ones who deserve and will win our votes.