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Why Gender May Be the Defining Issue of the Election

The New York Times, Lisa Lerer and Katie Glueck

Though both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have rarely addressed the issue of gender during the current campaign for the White House, gender is largely defining this election cycle in ways both covert and overt. Those who have studied voting patterns say that they have never before seen a presidential contest where gender is so central to the electability of each candidate – a survey conducted earlier this month shows that the gender gap has widened, as women maintain their support for Democrats, while men move toward supporting Trump. Much of the gender divide is actually driven by the youngest generation of voters, as the poll shows that 69 percent of women ages 18 to 29 favor Harris, compared with 45 percent of young men.

Kamala Harris Gaining in Key Voting Group, New Polling Shows

Newsweek, Peter Aitken

New AARP polling shows that Vice President Kamala Harris has made large inroads with women voters over 50, marking a significant gain over her predecessor. Fifty-four percent of older women polled in September supported Harris, compared to 42 percent for former President Donald Trump; President Joe Biden enjoyed just a 3 percent lead over Trump among the same demographic in AARP’s January survey. AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond called older women voters a “key swing bloc vote,” noting that this demographic is also “very motivated to vote.” WPI ED Betsy Fischer Martin discussed the implications of AARP’s recent polling this week with LeaMond, Kristen Soltis Anderson, Founding Partner at Echelon Insights, and Margie Omero, Principal at the Democratic polling firm GBAO. Watch the replay of “She’s the Difference: Voices of Women 50+” here.

Is the Gender Voting Gap Growing?

While young women have historically leaned more Democratic than Republican, this year’s election is shaping up to see a historic gender gap as Vice President Kamala Harris tries to become the country’s first female president. Former President Donald Trump is attempting to galvanize young men voters, frequently emphasizing masculinity in stump speeches on the campaign trail. In the closing weeks of the campaign, Harris has been banking on Trump’s position on abortion to persuade women to push the gender gap in the election even wider. Several top campaign aides say that both Harris and Trump’s strategies have massive implications for the shape of the electorate, and pollsters on both sides of the aisle predict that 2024 will represent the largest chasm in modern political history. Since women have turned out to vote in larger numbers than men since 1980, they could be the key to victory in an election with razor thin margins. In contrast, Vice President Kamala Harris said in Philadelphia that she doesn’t see evidence of a gender gap, “What I am seeing is in equal measure, men and women talking about their concerns about the future of our democracy.”

Winning Suburban Women Voters

On Monday, Vice President Harris made a “concerted effort” to appeal to Republican women in the country’s suburbs, campaigning alongside former Rep. Liz Cheney as her “ambassador to conservatives.” Stumping together before small crowds in Detroit and Philadelphia suburbs, the duo presented a united front against former President Donald Trump. Cheney painted Trump as dangerous and irresponsible on issues of national security, foreign policy, and abortion rights, describing Harris as the safer, more reasonable choice to protect women’s health and maintain international stability. Since many of these suburban women have historically voted for candidates who are far more closely aligned with Cheney on issues than they are with Harris, the Harris campaign hopes that their “Blue Wall” tour will persuade this crucial voting bloc to support her for president.

Seeking a Historic Win, Harris Faces a Familiar Foe: Sexism

Washington Post, Maeve Reston and Ashley Parker

With election day less than two weeks away, Vice President Kamala Harris has one final hurdle to the presidency: sexism. Americans believe we are ready for a woman president, but the lingering doubts surrounding a historic win come down to the age-old trope that women are too emotional, leading to volatility and irrational action. Harris must go above and beyond the standards that men need to meet, prove herself ready for the job; she has to be likable, have an outstanding resumé, be a doting stepmother (without too much time spent with her step kids), and never misspeak. This isn’t to say that the outcome of the election is because of Harris’ gender, but that it is nearly impossible to discern if America is voting against a woman president or that they’re voting against Harris herself. In addition to being a woman, Harris is Black and Indian—a complex layer to an already divisive campaign. Hillary Clinton’s campaign perhaps suffered from too much focus on her gender, one that Harris is gently avoiding. Harris’ campaign is vying for the white woman vote as well, and hoping that election day features a silent majority of women who vote for Harris but don’t want to admit it. It all comes down to whether America is ready for a woman president, and if Harris is that woman specifically.

How Maya Rudolph’s Impression of Kamala Harris Has Changed

The New York Times, Rebecca Davis O’Brien

Saturday Night Live has always embraced mocking political figures in their 50-season run from Will Ferrell as former President George W. Bush, Larry David as Bernie Sanders, to Tina Fey as former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin. With Kamala Harris, however, veteran comedian Maya Rudolph has adapted her portrayal of the Vice President over the last five years. Rudolph first portrayed Harris in 2019 as an affable “fun aunt” who drank cocktails and was in the background of it all. Now, Rudolph plays a confident, more serious version of Harris who is smarter than the men surrounding her and speaks with a tone of authority. “Kamala is all nuance” says Daniel Kellison, a seasoned television comedy producer. Rudolph mimics Harris’ hand gestures, laugh, and speech the same as before, but now with an iron-clad upper hand to Andy Samberg’s Doug Emhoff and Dana Carvey’s Joe Biden. This change comes after Harris’ rise to the Democratic Presidential candidate in a tense election with Rudolph wanting to portray a more serious version of her. The Vice President, however, says she enjoys Rudolph’s portrayal and that it’s important to laugh at yourself.

What’s Happening on the Ground

Working women are crucial for economic success, yet gender patterns continue to make women primarily responsible for family caregiving as well. Women are often the “CEO of the household,” including the cognitive labor of scheduling, planning, and being the informational index of their family, even if they are working as well as parenting. A recent study showed that women feel they handle more than 70% of the cognitive labor in their homes, leading to burn out in their relationships and feelings of depression. To fix this, there needs to be better communication between spouses about the household environment and sharing of duties. A different approach to women’s responsibilities was expressed by former president Donald Trump during a town hall in Georgia: “protecting” women on issues related to the economy, immigration, reproductive choice and transgender athletes. At the same time, there are an increasing number of men who stay at home while women have successful careers. For women on Wall Street, a “doting” husband stays behind while their wives bring in the income. The share of men who stay at home has risen 7% in 35 years from 11% in 1989 to 18% in 2024. A prominent example is Doug Emhoff, husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, who retired to help his wife run her presidential campaign and hold one of the country’s highest offices. Read more about a possible First Gentleman in Dr. Diana Carlin’s blog and join SPA for a discussion of the position on October 28.