President Barack Obama earns the support of nearly 60 percent of women nationwide while holding a 4-point lead overall, according to a poll from Quinnipiac University released Tuesday.
Although the president has consistently outpaced Romney among women, few polls have shown him hitting the lofty level of support with the key voting bloc that he reached in Tuesday’s poll from Quinnipiac. Women widely prefer Obama to Romney in the poll, 56 percent to 38 percent.
It’s a continuation of a storyline that has spanned much of the general election campaign. Romney, along with many of his fellow Republicans, has been unable to gain traction with the female electorate. Obama and the Democrats, on the other hand, have been quick to highlight GOP policies on contraception in an effort to mobilize women voters — a theme that figured prominently at the party’s national convention last month in Charlotte, N.C.
The PollTracker Average shows the consistent lead that Obama has held over Romney among women throughout the campaign.
The poll shows Obama leading Mitt Romney among likely voters nationwide, 49 percent to 45 percent, as the Republican nominee continues to battle an empathy problem. Not only is the Romney’s favorability rating still under water — another ongoing trend of the 2012 election — but 51 percent of voters surveyed said Romney does not care about the problems and needs of people like them. Conversely, 60 percent said Obama does care about their problems and needs.
Obama also boasts a narrow advantage over Romney on the economy, 48 percent to 47 percent, but the president claims a wider edge on issues related to national security and foreign affairs — two areas that have grown more salient over the last month. Voters said Obama would do a better job than Romney in handling an international crisis, 52 percent to 43 percent. The president is also preferred over the former Massachusetts governor when it comes to national security, 50 percent to 44 percent.
Tom Kludt
Tom Kludt is a newswriter for TPM. A former research intern and polling fellow for TPM, he lives and works in New York City. Tom graduated summa cum laude from the University of South Dakota in May of 2010 with a B.A. in Political Science and History. He can be reached at Tom (at) talkingpointsmemo.com.
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