Key Women Clinton Supporters: McCain Won’t Get Our Vote

Key Women Clinton Supporters: McCain Won’t Get Our Vote

Key Women Clinton Supporters: McCain Won’t Get Our Vote

John McCain has made it clear that his campaign intends to aggressively court supporters of Hillary Clinton, include her major base of women voters.

Now top women Clinton supporters have a message for McCain: not so fast.

"The McCain campaign has been talking about the mythology of trying to pick up HRC supporters," says Ellen Malcolm, president of EMILY’S List. "This is a pipe dream, because he’s out of touch with their lives and the issues they care about."

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

John McCain has made it clear that his campaign intends to aggressively court supporters of Hillary Clinton, include her major base of women voters.

Now top women Clinton supporters have a message for McCain: not so fast.

"The McCain campaign has been talking about the mythology of trying to pick up HRC supporters," says Ellen Malcolm, president of EMILY’S List. "This is a pipe dream, because he’s out of touch with their lives and the issues they care about."

"We are here to sound the alarm bell," said Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz of South Florida on a conference call today. "We are going to work hard to make sure that John McCain is not allowed to pull the wool over womens’ eyes one more day."

Wasserman-Schultz pointed to McCain’s opposition to universal healthcare, universal pre-K, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and raising the minimum wage as some of the many reasons women voters will rally around Barack Obama come November. "As a young woman in America who is a mom with three young kids, there is a real fear that John McCain will be dangerous for women," Wasserman-Schultz said. "He will impede our progress."

Malcolm and Wasserman-Schultz referenced a new Gallup poll showing Obama leading McCain by 13 points among women voters, a six point bump since Clinton exited the race and endorsed Obama. Gallup found that Obama is now "matching Clinton’s performance among women versus McCain." In addition, Obama leads McCain among women 50 and older–a key chunk of Clinton’s base–by six points, after trailing McCain among that group when Clinton remained in the race.

McCain is currently running well behind George W. Bush in 2004, who lost women voters to John Kerry by just three points by appealing to "security moms." And among non-college educated white women–another key segment of Clinton’s base–Bush beat Kerry by nineteen points. In ’06, Democrats cut that margin to five, a big reason why they recaptured Congress. If Obama can match that ’06 number, there’s a good chance Democrats will recapture the White House.

Wasserman-Schultz admitted that many Clinton supporters are still in a "period of mourning." According to Malcolm, "There is a lot of anger about sexism in the media, and the ongoing unwillingness to say anything positive about Clinton and her campaign. But that is about the media, and I dont think that transfers to Senator Obama."

EMILY’S List is planning to mobilize women voters on behalf of Obama in key battleground states, just as they did for Kerry and Gore and Clinton. An endless war in Iraq, skyrocketing gas prices, tax breaks for oil companies and a faltering economy are issues that deeply concern women voters. If Obama emphasizes these topics, Clinton supporters say, he can win over pro-Clinton skeptics. "The proof will be in the pudding," Wasserman-Schultz says, "as he campaigns across the country and talks about these issues that matter to women. This is what will warm women to him."

Support independent journalism that exposes oligarchs and profiteers


Donald Trump’s cruel and chaotic second term is just getting started. In his first month back in office, Trump and his lackey Elon Musk (or is it the other way around?) have proven that nothing is safe from sacrifice at the altar of unchecked power and riches.

Only robust independent journalism can cut through the noise and offer clear-eyed reporting and analysis based on principle and conscience. That’s what The Nation has done for 160 years and that’s what we’re doing now.

Our independent journalism doesn’t allow injustice to go unnoticed or unchallenged—nor will we abandon hope for a better world. Our writers, editors, and fact-checkers are working relentlessly to keep you informed and empowered when so much of the media fails to do so out of credulity, fear, or fealty.

The Nation has seen unprecedented times before. We draw strength and guidance from our history of principled progressive journalism in times of crisis, and we are committed to continuing this legacy today.

We’re aiming to raise $25,000 during our Spring Fundraising Campaign to ensure that we have the resources to expose the oligarchs and profiteers attempting to loot our republic. Stand for bold independent journalism and donate to support The Nation today.

Onward,

Katrina vanden Heuvel

Editorial Director and Publisher, The Nation

Ad Policy
x