Trump vs. Harris might be the largest gender divide in election history
With less than two months until Election Day, Trump vs. Harris could end up being the biggest gender divide in history, according to experts and the latest polls.
A recent ABC News/Ipsos poll shows that Kamala Harris’ 3-point lead over Trump is boosted by her wider advantage with women voters of 18 points over Trump.
After the first and only debate between Trump and Harris at the beginning of September, she emerged as the clear winner, according to several polls.
Moreover, after the debate Harris received pop icon Taylor Swift’s endorsement with a wink at JD Vance’s sexist comment about “childless cat ladies”.
Photo: Instagram @taylorswift
Political observers said then that the attacks resembled others the former president made on women and said that he could turn away critical women voters in the general election.
“He won’t get women voters who are swing voters,” Juliana Bergeron, a New Hampshire Republican National Committee member told The Hill at that time.
“I think there might be more women voters that are Republicans that he won’t get either. If it were to be a close election, yes, his comments could sway it,” she said.
“The cake is baked with regard to voters’ outrage over Trump’s comments,” said Alice Stewart, a Republican strategist and CNN political commentator.
“Suburban women, in particular, are so disgusted, they would never support him or they are to the point to where they say, ‘I’ll support his policies and I’ll put up with the disgusting comments, Stewart added.
Trump has struggled to win over women voters since 2018, particularly suburban college-educated women voters, data shows. In 2020 Biden won 54% of suburban women votes, according to the Pew Research Center.
Additionally, suburban women voters were opposed to many Trump-backed candidates in swing states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Arizona during the 2022 midterm elections.
And while Trump won the majority of women voters in the 2024 New Hampshire primary, it was by a relatively narrow 51% to 47%. By comparison, Trump won New Hampshire men 59% to 39%.
One month before the 2016 presidential elections, the now infamous “Access Hollywood” tape, in which Trump was heard bragging about groping women, was leaked. At the time, it was seen as a death sentence for the Trump campaign, but then he went on to beat Hillary Clinton.
Not to mention his several felony charges and his unfounded claims of a stolen 2020 election, both reasons that account for suburban women losses, according to Alice Stewart, CNN political commentator. However the Roe v. Wade issue in particular has been a liability, according to Stewart.
And the issue is clearly on Trump’s mind. In late August, he claimed that his administration “will be great for women and their reproductive rights” in Truth Social, a statement that was met with widespread incredulity after having called himself “the most pro-life president” in history.