WSJ Poll: White Suburban Women Back GOP Over Dems by 15 Points (Newsmax)
By Eric Mack | Wednesday, 02 November 2022 01:49 PM EDT
Two years after former President Donald Trump famously urged suburban woman to "please like me," The Wall Street Journal poll is showing that key voting bloc is trending from Democrats to Republicans in the closing days of these midterm elections.
White suburban women, which make up 20% of the electorate, are siding with Republican over Democrats by a 15-point margin, moving 27 points away from Democrats since the August version of the poll.
It apparently is the "economy stupid" — to use the famed line of Democrat strategist James Carville — over the issue Democrats hoped might stem a midterm red wave with suburban white women: abortion.
"We're talking about a collapse, if you will, in that group on the perceptions of the economy," Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio, who worked opposite Democrat pollster John Anzalone on the poll.
Ruth Anne Ramsey, 76, of Darien, Conn., an undecided independent voter, said she is leaning Republican due to the struggling economy.
"I think that generally I would trust Democrats on social issues but trust the Republicans more on monetary issues," she told the Journal. "I think that the economy is number one in my mind. It's costing people so much more money to live."
A majority of white suburban women (54%) said they believe the U.S. economy is already in a recession, while 74% say it is headed in the wrong direction. Those numbers were 43% and 59% in August, according to the Journal.
This voting bloc was among the most motivated to vote by Tuesday, Nov. 8, as 85% says they were very motivated to vote.
"Right now I feel the Democrats are ruining our country," Dana Gianassi, 68, of Lincoln, Calif., told the Journal, adding the concern of violent crime. "We're on fixed incomes. The gas is unbelievable.
"We don't go out at night anymore because of it," she added of crime. "We don't go to Sacramento after dark. It has affected our lives."
Rising costs are at least a minor strain on 66% of white suburban women in the poll.
"It is impacting us personally," Susan Smith, 76, of Perkasie, Pa., told the Journal. "I came out with a few grocery bags and I paid $120. I eat Cheerios every morning and they've doubled in price."
The issue of abortion just does not carry the same voting influence as the economy and inflation woes, the poll found.
"It's absolutely true that these women have shifted their gaze more on the economy than abortion," Democrat pollster Molly Murphy told the Journal. "They think we're in a recession. A majority are feeling financial strain in this economy."
The Wall Street Journal polled 1,500 registered voters Oct. 22-26, and the sample of white suburban women had margins of error of plus or minus 5.7 percentage points or 8 percentage points on some of the policy questions.