Skip to main content

Republicans have a young woman problem

Your definitive guide to women, politics and power.
Jun 30, 2023 View in browser
 
Women Rule logo

By Sophie Gardner

"I Voted" stickers are pictured moving from one side of the illustration to the other.

POLITICO illustration/Photo by iStock

Hi rulers! This week I learned that, in many hunter gather societies, women hunted just as much as men. My female hunter ancestors would probably be embarrassed to know that I've been vegetarian for 14 years. Let's get to it!

Young women are increasingly voting for Democrats. The GOP agrees that they need to fix that – now they just need to agree on how.

In the 2022 midterms, young women broke hard for Democratic candidates. According to CNN exit polling, 72 percent of women between the ages of 18-29 voted Democratic in house races nationwide, compared to 26 percent of young women who voted for Republicans. (Polling data for the 2018 midterms doesn’t break down age and gender, but 59 percent of women of all ages voted for Democrats in house races that year.) Meanwhile, the percentage of young women who identify as liberal has been steadily increasing for the last several years.

Republicans strategists say if the GOP doesn’t find a way to better appeal to young women, they run the risk of missing out on a key group in a general election that’s sure to be decided on razor-thin margins. But Republicans have conflicting opinions about what might bring that bloc over to the GOP.

“It would be the perfect time to come up with a cohesive plan to speak to women, clearly has not happened,” says Jennifer Lim, the founder and executive director of Republican Women for Progress.

Why the disenchantment with the GOP? No surprises here: experts say that the recent shift likely has everything to do with abortion. After all, 71 percent of young women say that abortion should be legal in most or all cases.

“Young women did have a big increase in voting Democratic even though they normally are more Democratic,” says William Frey, a senior fellow with Brookings Metro who analyzed exit polls from the 2022 midterm. “I think you can chalk that up, to some degree, to the abortion issue.”

“The huge turnout we saw this past midterm is a direct result of the rollback of freedoms related directly to abortion,” says Jessica Herrera, the communications and marketing director for Supermajority, a left-leaning organization that aims to up women’s participation in elections.

So how does the GOP hope to remedy this ideological divide before November 2024? Conservative CNN commentator Alice Stewart thinks that Republicans need to change how they talk about abortion, without necessarily changing their policies.

“I fought really hard for overturning Roe v. Wade, and I'm extremely pro-life and unapologetically pro-life,” Stewart tells Women Rule.

“I also acknowledged that it has been a double-edged sword because that issue has motivated pro-abortion voters. This obviously is an issue that is important for younger voters, women voters, and we need to make sure that they understand that abortion isn't the only option.”

Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL), one of the youngest women in Congress, echoed that sentiment. As she sees it, the GOP needs to make sure that pregnant women have support systems in place so they don’t need an abortion in the first place.

“Being pro-life is not just being pro-life in the womb. It’s being pro-life after the fact,” says Cammack, who serves as the Bipartisan Congressional Pro-Life Caucus co-chair.

All too often, she says, some “political personalities” oversimplify the issue.

“There's so many times women feel like they don't have options or resources. So you've really seen in the last several years, a significant push for additional resources for crisis pregnancy centers really looking to support adoption and fostering initiatives.” (Crisis pregnancy centers have become something of a rallying point for Democrats, who argue they’re often misleading about their mission.)

Cammack also notes young women are not a monolith – and that they care about a plurality of issues outside of abortion. “For the longest time, the GOP has treated women like single issue voters,” she says.

Karoline Leavitt, who became the first Republican Gen Z congressional nominee during her unsuccessful 2022 bid to unseat Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), agrees that the GOP needs to lean into a variety of other issues that she believes will motivate young women.

She names crime and economic issues as two hard hitters. “Women want good paying jobs, too. We don't want to be unable to afford our groceries or our gas bills. We want safety in our communities.”

Eileen Sobjack, president of the National Federation of Republican Women, tells Women Rule she thinks the key might be in getting more young women into positions of power in the GOP – which she hopes will encourage other young women to join the party.

“We need more women of all ages. We need that perspective.” Sobjack said. “We need more of them running – and in Congress and in the Senate.”

“In addition to not having any women represented in the field besides Nikki Haley, [the GOP] is still not addressing any issues women are dealing with,” says Lim of Republican Women for Progress.

“So if you're a younger woman, and you're watching this presidential election, there's still nothing to attract you to the Republican Party.”

But even pushing for more women in politics is controversial among the party’s most conservative faction. At Turning Point USA’s annual Young Women’s Leadership Summit in June, conservative podcast host Alex Clark, who is a woman herself, said that “politics should not be a priority right now for conservative women.” Women, she said, would be happier if they would “go back to biblical roots and what God had designed for women to do.”

POLITICO Special Report

Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson adjusts her glasses during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo

Clarence Thomas, Ketanji Brown Jackson air sharp disagreement on race in America,” by Josh Gerstein for POLITICO: “Jackson’s 28-page dissent defended the use of race-conscious programs to ameliorate the pervasive, present-day effects of America’s history of state-sponsored racism.”

New York Dems put abortion on the ballot in bid to retake the House,” by Brittany Gibson for POLITICO: “Left-leaning New York groups pledged $20 million Thursday to support a change to the New York State constitution to protect abortion rights that will be on the 2024 ballot — something they believe will boost turnout for Democrats in key swing House districts..”

Harris on the hot seat: Veep has critical stretch ahead as campaign heats up,” by Eugene Daniels for POLITICO.

Michelle Obama speaks about how affirmative action personally affected her college life,” by Lucy Hodgman for POLITICO.

Number of the Week

Text reads: Black women make up 5.2 percent of all members of Congress.

Read more here.

MUST READS

Workers toil on a new high-rise structure.

David Zalubowski/AP Photo

Migrant women find work building New York, their adopted city,” by Stefanos Chen and Ana Ley for the New York Times: “Attracted by the prospect of steadier work and better pay, more migrant women are entering the male-dominated construction industry, social service providers said, at a time when the city is struggling to accommodate tens of thousands of asylum seekers.”

Women Interviewing for Bill Gates’s Private Office Were Asked Sexually Explicit Questions,” by Khadeeja Safdar and Emily Glazer for the Wall Street Journal.

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is a game changer for U.S. women. Here's why,” by Megan Cerullo for CBS News: “Starting Tuesday, millions of U.S. workers will gain vastly expanded protections under a new law that bars employers from discriminating against pregnant women and requires companies to provide accommodations so they can keep doing their jobs while they're expecting.”

Women in Leadership Face Ageism at Every Age,” by Amy Diehl, Leanne M. Dzubinski, and Amber L. Stephenson for Harvard Business Review.

Quote of the Week

Text reads: “Too often we have decisions being made for women, not by women,” – Philanthropist Melinda French Gates.

Read more here.

Transitions

Marta Hansen is now a national program manager at Power the Polls. She most recently ran national partnerships for Power the Polls and was Assistant Dean of the Women's Community Center at Stanford University. …

Cecilia Rouse will be president of Brookings. She currently is a Katzman-Ernst professor in economics and education at Princeton University and is a Biden White House alum. …

Karla McKanders is joining the Thurgood Marshall Institute as director. She previously was a professor for critical race theory and immigration law at Vanderbilt University Law School. …

Kelley Hudak is now director of federal relations at the American Petroleum Institute. She most recently was director of government affairs at Tyson Foods and is a Steve Scalise alum (h/t Playbook.)

 

Follow us on Twitter

Sophie Gardner @sophie_gardnerj

 

Follow us

Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcast
 

To change your alert settings, please log in at https://www.politico.com/_login?base=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.politico.com/settings

This email was sent to rouf@idiot.cloudns.cc by: POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA

Please click here and follow the steps to unsubscribe.

Comments

Popular Posts

💡The most innovative iPhone trick of the year.

Watch the performance: The ULTIMATE every-day carry. Make the physical light on the back of your iPhone come to life and move around. Then hand everything out for examination. This is a wildly innovative idea you have to see to believe.   ...

"Ingenious. Spectators can't reverse engineer it" -Doug Henderson

"I'm doing this first thing in the morning at work, they'll be spitting coffee through their noses, how freaking simply and clever...." - Jeff Thornley https://www.penguinmagic.com/p/7311 Dan Harlan fooled Penn & Teller on national TV recently, and we're proud to present his reputation making mind-reading effect "All Seeing Eye". A masterpiece that will fool everyone you show. Rave reviews have been pouring in since it came out. It's one of the most highly rated tricks on the site.. ...

AI is raising stakes for plastic surgery

The ideas and innovators shaping health care Jan 30, 2024 View in browser   By Daniel Payne , Ruth Reader and Erin Schumaker OPERATING ROOM For plastic surgeons, AI could mean more patients with higher expectations. | Getty ...

Playbook PM: Biden gets an eerie welcome to Pittsburgh

Presented by The American Beverage Association: POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the afternoon in Washington. Jan 28, 2022 View in browser   By Garrett Ross and Eli Okun Presented by A two-lane bridge collapsed in Pittsburgh early Friday, prompting rescuers to rappel nearly 150 feet while others formed a human chain to help rescue multiple people from a dang...

HHS to doctors: Share patient info or else

Presented by Optum Rx: Delivered daily by 10 a.m., Pulse examines the latest news in health care politics and policy. Oct 31, 2023 View in browser   By Chelsea Cirruzzo and Ben Leonard Presented by ...

Breaking News: Top lawmakers strike funding deal, potentially averting weekend shutdown

Breaking News Alert Top lawmakers strike funding deal, potentially averting week...

"The best piece of magic I have ever purchased." -Ray Espinal

Watch the performance: Watch the performance here: https://www.penguinmagic.com/p/12801 "AMAZING! I can see so many possibilities with this!" -Shin Lim "The challenge is how to make it feel LESS perfect." - Javier Bonilla "I'm an absolute zero-prop guy especially when it comes to electronics in mentalism, yet, here I am. I am deeply impressed. A must-buy for the working pro. " - Phedon Bilek 3 totally ordinary looking dice -- you know in real-time what they ro...

Google Alert - Swift

Swift Daily update ⋅ December 18, 2017 NEWS Suzuki Swift review: 'A proper terrier' The Guardian Here's my small contribution towards an understanding of robo error. Driving through town slowly in the new Suzuki Swift the other night the car's sensors assumed a man walking along a line of parked cars was about to leap into my path. The Swift abruptly initiated a full balls-out screeching emergency ... Flag as irrelevant Swift transition deal is vital, says UK Finance The Times The lobby group for Britain's financial services industry has called for a swift "sensible transition agreement" between the UK and the European Union to avoid trillions of euros of contracts being thrown into uncertainty by Brexit. UK Finance said that the chancellor must put getting a workable deal for ... Flag as irrelevant ...

Report: AI in Netflix doc / "Witcher" to end after S5 / HBO Inigo Philbrick series / Netflix drops "Hit Man" trailer

Plus today's calendar, "Sweet Tooth" Season 3 update, Apple and A24's "Sunny," "We Are Lady Parts" returns, AirPlay in hotels, and more Inside Streaming For April 18, 2024 Thank you to our sponsor Thanks for opening today's Inside Streaming. There's no confirmation that it's true yet, but Netflix using AI generated images in a true crime documentary would certainly be a significant story, if it turns out to be accurate. The photos aren't meant to be incriminating, of course. They're just depictions of a convicted criminal's happy early life, meant to contrast the dark allegations against them. But still, it would be a manipulation. There's a clear and obvious baseline expectation that the materials we see and hear in a non-fiction documentary film are real and undoctored. Violating that trust, even for something "innocent" like a background image, goes over the line, an...

Market Outlook 🚀 - Markets on Pace for Worst Month Since March 2020

Wages increase 1% in Q4 2021 Inside.com Part of   Network January 31, 2022 Presented by US Markets Stock Market futures are down slightly  on the last trading day of January, which is on track to be the worst month for U.S. equities since March 2020.  The S&P 500 is down 7% in January and down 8% from its highest point this month.  The Nasdaq is down 12% this month and 15% from its November high.  The current 10 Year U.S. Treasury yield is set at 1.79400% Dow Jones  34,725.47 1.65% S&P 500  4,431.85 2.43% Nasdaq  13,770.57 3.13% Russell 2000 1,968.51 1.93% *Stock Market data as of the last closing bell. Data received directly from the references indexes through ICE Data Services. Do you not understand any of these figures? Check out our explainer.   ...