GOP Faces Gender Gap

Poll numbers show the gap between Democratic and Republican votes by women is growing.

  (Image Source: The New York Times ) BY ALLIE SPILLYARDS The battle for the White House wages on and women have the spotlight. No — we’re not talking female candidates. Instead, the media is focusing on what they call an ever-growing gender gap for the GOP. According to the Washington Post — it all boils down to the contraception debate. “Both sides have tried to shape the narrative in this battle for and about women. But many Republicans are beginning to wish they had never waded into what has become a heated conversation over contraception, who should have it and what it says about people who use it.” The birth control debate has famously become known as the GOP’s “War on Women” in Democratic circles, but a panel for MSNBC says — the GOP’s stance was more of an “oops.” “And so they staked out a claim in a place that they thought was at least contested or maybe friendly, and they lost in a big way. And when they started losing, they doubled down.” And it’s not just talk. The latest Wall Street Journal/MSNBC poll shows — women are divided. The poll released last week shows the gap between women supporting Democrats and women supporting Republicans has widened to 51 percent/36 percent respectively—a gap that’s up 15 points since last summer. A writer for the Vancouver Sun points out — this is lost ground for the right. “What's startling is that after 9/11, the difference between male and female voter preferences was virtually eliminated and it continued until as recently as last summer. The Republicans' message of patriotism and family values reversed the decades-long trend of women choosing the Democrats.” But not everyone is convinced. New York Times columnist David Brooks tells a panel on PBS NewsHour — 2012 won’t be any different than past years. “There has been historically generally a bit of a gender gap, though, in some elections, it's disappeared. And so I assume that will be there. But I don't think there is a women's position on a lot of these issues. And so I expect the gender gap will be about what we have seen.” According to the Washington Post’s Felicia Sonmez , the gender gap within the primary has yet to be too much of a factor up to this point. Romney and Santorum split about a five-percent difference in women’s votes on Super Tuesday.