Polls show that women have lost confidence in Trump’s ability to handle the economy
Former President Donald Trump faces a growing divide with female voters as the crucial voting bloc increasingly trusts Vice President Kamala Harris on key issues, including the economy.
The Democratic presidential candidate has a fifteen-point lead over the ex-president among women, new opinion polls show American University found. Nationally, Harris is at 54 percent among women, while Trump is at 39 percent.
Independent women voters support Harris by eighteen points, with 50 percent, compared to Trump’s 32 percent.
The polls showed Harris winning women’s trust on key issues surrounding Trump, including inflation, the economy and abortion.
On inflation, Harris has a 14-point lead over Trump, with 51 percent confident she will tackle the problem, compared to Trump’s 37 percent. When it comes to handling the economy, 46 percent trust Harris, while 38 percent trust Trump.
Former President Donald Trump trails Vice President Kamala Harris by 15 points among women, as women trust Harris more on issues of inflation and abortion
The polls show that women are becoming more optimistic about the country’s future economic prospects.
Even though prices have risen and inflation is a financial burden, more than half of women are optimistic about the U.S. economy in the next 12 months. That is an increase compared to just forty percent last year.
The presidential race appears to be razor thin with just over a month to go before Election Day, but the ex-president’s struggles with women have become increasingly apparent during the campaign.
Even Trump has brought up the challenges he faces at his rallies, recently lamenting in Pennsylvania, “I always thought women liked me.”
He promised to be a “protector” of women and claimed that under Trump’s presidency, women would “be happy, healthy, confident and free.” But women don’t seem to buy it.
“We are poised for the largest gender gap in modern history in this election and potentially historic female voter turnout,” said Betsy Fischer Martin, executive director of the Women & Politics Institute at American University.
As more women trust Harris on the economy, an issue that largely sees Trump as the better candidate in national polls, navigating abortion rights has also put Trump in an awkward position.
The ex-president nominated three of the six Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v Wade. Earlier this year he signaled he would be open to a national abortion ban, before recently pushing for this to be decided by states.
Despite attacks on abortion rights, a large majority of women believe abortion should be legal and available, the poll shows. They also want contraception and fertility treatments to be accessible and affordable.
Trump tried to address this when he called for IVF and other fertility treatments to be paid for by the government or fully covered by insurance during the campaign. However, he did not provide details on how he would achieve that.
Kamala Harris speaks to a little girl during her rally in Ripon, Wisconsin on October 3, 2024
A woman wipes away tears as she comes face to face with the vice president during an emotional moment on the campaign trail
In the current political climate and with so much at stake, more women are involved in politics than ever before, the polls show.
“This research shows that women are more involved than ever because the stakes are high: almost half of women surveyed told us this will be the most important election of their lives,” said Lindsay Vermeyen, partner at BSG.
The prospect of a first female president is also resonated. A majority of voters maintain that the country is more open to a female president than eight years ago, when Hillary Clinton was the Democratic presidential nominee against Trump.
The overwhelming majority of voters believe it is important to elect more women into politics, while six in ten people think the government should do more with women in politics.
With Harris taking over the top of the Democratic presidential ticket and in charge, her favorability among women has actually increased.
Fifty-five percent now see her in a favorable spotlight ahead of the presidential election. That’s an increase from just 43 percent who had a positive image of her last year.
Women’s independent opinions of the vice president rose twenty-three points. Fifty-one percent now have a favorable view of Harris, while only 38 percent view her unfavorably.
Fifty-seven percent of women have an unfavorable view of Donald Trump.