Romney erases Obama women advantage
Source: Agencies |
October 26, 2012, Friday
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A new Associated Press-GfK poll shows US President Barack Obama has ceded his 16-point advantage among women, while largely erasing Republican challenger Mitt Romney's edge among men in a presidential race that is virtually tied 12 days before Election Day.
The shifting support along gender lines shows Romney favored by 47 percent of likely voters to 45 percent for Obama, a result within the poll's margin of sampling error.
Obama's dip in support among women appeared to reflect a drive by Romney in October to show himself as a more moderate candidate after months of campaigning as a hard-right conservative.
Romney's gains also showed his economic argument has made progress with women as he has sought to soften his image.
A month ago, women favored Obama over Romney on the economy 56 percent to 40 percent. Now, the split has shifted to 49 percent for Romney and 45 percent for Obama.
The poll still showed Obama with a hefty lead, 55 percent to 41 percent, among female likely voters on the question of which candidate would make the right decisions on women's issues.
For all of the good news for Republicans, however, what matters most in the final days before the November 6 election is Romney's standing in the handful of states that still are up for grabs. Polls in a number of those battleground states still appear to favor Obama.
The US presidential election is not decided by nationwide popular vote but in state-by-state contests.
Romney has narrowed or eliminated Obama leads in many important issues after a commanding first debate performance on October 3. Romney has even gained ground among women on the issue of which candidate better understands voters' problems. Obama's lead among women on the issue was 58 percent to Romney's 36 percent last month. The new poll shows Obama's edge has fallen to 50 percent to Romney's 43 percent.
Having gained ground with women, however, Romney's campaign now must deal with the fallout from a comment by a Romney-endorsed Senate candidate in Indiana, who said that when a woman becomes pregnant during a rape, "that's something God intended."
Obama's campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the incident was "a reminder that a Republican Congress working with a Republican President Mitt Romney would feel that women should not be able to make choices about their own health care."
The Romney campaign said on Wednesday that the presidential nominee disagreed with what Richard Mourdock said but stood by his endorsement of the Senate candidate. Romney opposes abortion but, unlike Mourdock, supports exceptions in cases of rape or incest.
The shifting support along gender lines shows Romney favored by 47 percent of likely voters to 45 percent for Obama, a result within the poll's margin of sampling error.
Obama's dip in support among women appeared to reflect a drive by Romney in October to show himself as a more moderate candidate after months of campaigning as a hard-right conservative.
Romney's gains also showed his economic argument has made progress with women as he has sought to soften his image.
A month ago, women favored Obama over Romney on the economy 56 percent to 40 percent. Now, the split has shifted to 49 percent for Romney and 45 percent for Obama.
The poll still showed Obama with a hefty lead, 55 percent to 41 percent, among female likely voters on the question of which candidate would make the right decisions on women's issues.
For all of the good news for Republicans, however, what matters most in the final days before the November 6 election is Romney's standing in the handful of states that still are up for grabs. Polls in a number of those battleground states still appear to favor Obama.
The US presidential election is not decided by nationwide popular vote but in state-by-state contests.
Romney has narrowed or eliminated Obama leads in many important issues after a commanding first debate performance on October 3. Romney has even gained ground among women on the issue of which candidate better understands voters' problems. Obama's lead among women on the issue was 58 percent to Romney's 36 percent last month. The new poll shows Obama's edge has fallen to 50 percent to Romney's 43 percent.
Having gained ground with women, however, Romney's campaign now must deal with the fallout from a comment by a Romney-endorsed Senate candidate in Indiana, who said that when a woman becomes pregnant during a rape, "that's something God intended."
Obama's campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the incident was "a reminder that a Republican Congress working with a Republican President Mitt Romney would feel that women should not be able to make choices about their own health care."
The Romney campaign said on Wednesday that the presidential nominee disagreed with what Richard Mourdock said but stood by his endorsement of the Senate candidate. Romney opposes abortion but, unlike Mourdock, supports exceptions in cases of rape or incest.
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