Former President Donald Trump faces a widening gap with female voters as the crucial voting bloc trusts Vice President Kamala Harris more when it comes to important issues, including the economy.
The Democratic presidential candidate has a fifteen-point lead over the former president among women, according to a new poll from american university found. Harris has 54 percent among women nationally, while Trump has 39 percent.
Independent voters back Harris by eighteen points, 50 percent to Trump’s 32 percent.
The poll found that Harris is gaining trust among women when it comes to the most important issues on Trump, including inflation, the economy and abortion.
On inflation, Harris has a fourteen-point lead over Trump: 51 percent trust her to address it, compared to 37 percent for Trump. Regarding management of the economy, 46 percent trust Harris, while 38 percent trust Trump.
Former President Donald Trump is fifteen points behind Vice President Kamala Harris among women, as women trust Harris more on inflation and abortion.
Surveys show that women are increasingly optimistic about the country’s future economic prospects.
Although prices have risen and inflation has been a financial burden, more than half of women are optimistic about the U.S. economy over the next twelve months. This represents an increase from forty percent last year.
The presidential race is proving to be very close with just over a month until Election Day, but the former president’s struggles with women are becoming more evident on the campaign trail.
Even Trump has raised the challenges he faces at his rallies, recently complaining in Pennsylvania: “I always thought women liked me.”
He promised to be a “protector” of women and claimed that under Trump, women would be “happy, healthy, safe and free.” But the women don’t seem to believe it.
“We are set for the widest gender gap in modern history in this election and potentially historic turnout of female voters,” said Betsy Fischer Martin, executive director of the Institute for Women and Politics at American University.
As more women trust Harris on the economy, an issue on which Trump has largely been seen as the better candidate in national polls, navigating abortion rights has also put Trump in a difficult position.
The former president nominated three of the six Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v Wade. Earlier this year, he signaled that he would be open to a national abortion ban before more recently insisting that it should be decided by the states.
Despite attacks on abortion rights, a large majority of women believe abortion should be legal and available, the survey found. They also want to make contraceptive and fertility treatments accessible and affordable.
Trump attempted 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 election campaign. However, he did not provide any details on how he would achieve this.
Kamala Harris speaking to a girl at 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 than ever are participating in politics, according to surveys.
“This survey shows that women are more engaged than ever because the stakes are so high – nearly half of the women surveyed told us this will be the most important election of their lives,” said Lindsay Vermeyen, Partner at BSG.
The prospect of having the first female president is also resonating. Most voters insist the country is more open to a female president than it was eight years ago, when Hillary Clinton was the Democratic presidential nominee against Trump.
Voters overwhelmingly believe it is important to elect more women to political office, and six in ten believe the government does more with women in office.
With Harris topping the Democratic presidential ticket and leading the charge, her favors have actually increased among women.
55 percent now see her in a favorable light ahead of the presidential election. This represents an increase from the 43 percent who had a favorable opinion of her last year.
Independent women’s opinions of the vice president have risen twenty-three points. 51 percent now have a favorable opinion of Harris, while only 38 percent view her unfavorably.
Fifty-seven percent of women have an unfavorable opinion of Donald Trump.