Obama’s Female Support Is Not Only Due to “Handsomeness”

On Apr. 5, the International Daily News published an editorial saying that, according to opinion polls, the proportion of female voters with negative impressions of the Democratic and Republican Parties were 40 percent and 59 percent, respectively. Looking at these numbers, it seems that female voters stay away from the Republican Party. Analysts in the mainstream media say that in the Republican primaries, the conservative wing of the party has been harmful toward women. If they want to gain more female voters’ support, the candidates’ “handsomeness” is not nearly enough; they have to have policies that interest female voters.

Below is a summary of the article:

A few days ago, USA Today and Gallup announced the results of a poll showing that in the states that may become contested between the Republican and Democratic Parties in November’s general election, Obama’s support is at 51 percent, and Romney, the likely Republican representative going up against Obama in the general election, has 41 percent support. Obama is leading Romney by 9 percent.

In a poll announced last week by CNN and ORC International, Obama’s national support rate is 54 percent, whereas Romney’s support rate is 43 percent. These two polls where Obama holds the lead have something else in common: In both, Obama’s support is even higher among women. Can female voters determine the general election?

In the poll by USA Today and Gallup, 54 percent of women voters supported Obama, whereas Romney only received 36 percent support. The difference between the two is 18 percent. In the poll by CNN and ORC, the difference in the female voter support level was even larger, Obama’s support rate was at 60 percent and Romney’s support rate was only 37 percent. Another poll showed the proportions of women who liked or disliked Romney were 34 and 48 percent, respectively. The rates for liking and disliking Obama were 58 and 41 percent; the proportion of women who had positive and negative impressions of the Democratic Party were 54 and 40 percent, respectively, and the proportion of women voters with positive and negative impressions of the Republican Party were 34 and 59 percent. Looking at the numbers, it seems that female voters are staying away from the Republican Party.

What caused this phenomenon? Mainstream media analysis says that the Republican Party and Romney offering these policies, from taking birth control out of health care plans to Limbaugh’s comments about the Georgetown student who testified before Congress, to women are a tough sell. Romney is trying the Republican Party’s leftover mistakes. He talked about and then followed through with locking women voters outside the room. In the Republican primary, the party’s conservative faction has harmed women.

However, there is a gender difference in the support that the two parties receive in the general election. This is not a new phenomenon. The first general election in which this phenomenon appeared was the 1980 election between the Republican Reagan and the Democrat Carter. According to CNN’s polling, since 1980, female support for the Democratic Party is usually 7-9 percent higher than male support for the Democratic Party in the general election. In the 2008 general election, the proportion of women who supported Obama was 56 percent; among men, it was 49 percent.

If they want to gain more female voters’ support, the candidates’ “handsomeness” is not nearly enough; they have to have policies that interest female voters. In a campaign momentum-building activity in Wisconsin on Sunday, Romney said that the Republicans must work to make sure that American women understand how [the Republicans] are going to help them find good jobs and how they are going to bring about a bright future for the economy and for their children. At the same time, they must clear up the distortions spread by the Democratic Party and let women hear the facts. As to whether Romney or the Republican Party can put forth policies that satisfy women, we can only wait and see. However, there is probably one thing that is certain: During campaign activities in the future, Romney will have to “group up” with female voters.