Female voters may have considerable effect on election
Sep 7, 2012, 7:52 AM | Updated: 7:52 am
PHOENIX — Women may have more of an effect than ever before determining who wins the White House.
The Democratic National Convention has wrapped up in Charlotte, N.C., after placing an emphasis on women voters. A trio of Valley political experts have differing opinions on the strategy.
Mike O’Neil said the president had the female vote on his side going into Charlotte and that lead is even more solid now.
“The real question is what happens to the magnitude of the difference because there’s no question that the majority of women will vote for Obama in the fall,” he said.
Stan Barnes said the Democrats seem to believe they have female voters locked up because of the party’s stance on women’s issues, including abortion rights and the gender gap, but they do so at their own peril.
“I don’t think women come to the presidential election through gender issues and I think they do it through economic issues in 2012,” he said.
An Arizona State University political scientist said President Obama has the advantage with female voters but that lead isn’t as strong as it was four years ago.
Kim Fridkin said the Democrats spent time in Charlotte promoting that Republicans are out of touch with women when it comes to abortion rights and the gender gap.
“Given [Republicans] history on issues that affect women, it will be hard for them to overcome,” she said. “They may be able to narrow the gender gap somewhat. They’re not going to be able to eliminate it.”
