In what might be the most interesting aspect of this entire election season: Sen. John McCain’s pick of Gov. Sarah Palin has actually widened the gender gap — where more men prefer the Republicans and more women prefer the Democrats.
According to “The Hotline” – National Journal’s Daily Political Briefing:
— McCain’s surge is being driven largely by men. Which, in the words of FD pollsters, has turned a gender gap into a chasm. McCain leads Obama among men by 13 pts (it was tied post-Denver), while Obama leads McCain among women by the same margin.
— Even so, McCain’s bigger quest is to find a way to cut into Obama’s lead among women. McCain’s doing 2 pts better among men than Pres. Bush did in ’04, but he’s running 10 pts behind Bush’s ’04 performance among women.
— Can Palin help? That’s what McCain hopes. Right now, however, women are slightly less sold on Palin than men. Perhaps we’ll see less pit bull and more People magazine from now on.
Has selecting Palin actually driven women more towards the Democratic ticket? I know it sounds counter intuitive, but in some discussions I have had with women over the past couple weeks, I know there is a high degree of skepticism in McCain’s choice. Whereas men are completely comfortable with the selection and feel like Ronald Reagan is now on the ballot.
