• Home
  • Opinion
  • Quizzes
  • Redistricting
  • Sections
  • About Us
  • Voting
  • Events
  • Civic Ed
  • Campaign Finance
  • Directory
  • Election Dissection
  • Fact Check
  • Glossary
  • Independent Voter News
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Subscriptions
  • Log in
Leveraging Our Differences
  • news & opinion
    • Big Picture
      • Civic Ed
      • Ethics
      • Leadership
      • Leveraging big ideas
      • Media
    • Business & Democracy
      • Corporate Responsibility
      • Impact Investment
      • Innovation & Incubation
      • Small Businesses
      • Stakeholder Capitalism
    • Elections
      • Campaign Finance
      • Independent Voter News
      • Redistricting
      • Voting
    • Government
      • Balance of Power
      • Budgeting
      • Congress
      • Judicial
      • Local
      • State
      • White House
    • Justice
      • Accountability
      • Anti-corruption
      • Budget equity
    • Columns
      • Beyond Right and Left
      • Civic Soul
      • Congress at a Crossroads
      • Cross-Partisan Visions
      • Democracy Pie
      • Our Freedom
  • Pop Culture
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
  • events
  • About
      • Mission
      • Advisory Board
      • Staff
      • Contact Us
Sign Up
  1. Home>
  2. Big Picture>
  3. women>

Women voters put economy as top priority

Candice Norwood, The 19th
July 27, 2021
​A woman casts her vote at the Hazel Parker Playground in Charleston, S.C., on Nov. 3, 2020.

A woman casts her vote at the Hazel Parker Playground in Charleston, S.C., on Nov. 3, 2020.

Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images

Originally published by The 19th.

Women voters will be key for Democrats to maintain control of Congress next year. To succeed, the party will need to harness President Biden's support among women and show how lawmakers are working to address their concerns about the economy, according to a liberal group that conducted polling and focus groups.

New research shared with The 19th by liberal super PAC American Bridge 21st Century offers a glimpse into the priorities for women voters in four critical battleground states for the 2022 midterm elections and highlights where the Democratic Party's messaging may fall short.

The women listed economic recovery as a top concern and expressed support for a number of Democratic priorities that include giving Medicare the ability to negotiate drug prices, investing in infrastructure, improving job training programs and giving loans to small businesses.


But the survey showed a disconnect between the women's perception of the president and Democrats in Congress. While 57 percent of the women viewed Biden favorably, 49 percent had a favorable opinion of Senate Democrats.

“Biden does not come across as progressive and mired in politics as much as the Democrats overall. They don't seem on the same page with cohesive plans [and] policies," a white woman in Pennsylvania told researchers.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

“I think Joe Biden and some Democrats differ in their views on working across the political aisle," said a Black woman in Georgia, according to the group. “I think Joe Biden has been consistently optimistic about gaining [bipartisan] support, and that it is possible. However, I think some Democrats feel that it is impossible."

American Bridge, in partnership with the polling firm ALG Research, conducted the online survey of 2,000 registered women voters in May. It included voters in Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The American Bridge data also included several focus groups held in June and July with women who expressed positive views about Biden but could vote for Republicans or forgo voting entirely in the midterms.

The largest number of women saw boosting the economy, lowering health care costs and addressing migration at the U.S.-Mexico border as “extremely important" issues. But just 24 percent of them said the same about addressing challenges for working families with young children, an issue at the center of Biden's American Families Plan.

The 19th Represents 2021 Virtual Summit
Join us this August for our free #19thRepresents summit with virtual conversations on representation in democracy, sports, business, culture and voting.
Join Us

In focus groups, the women spoke broadly about the Covid-19 financial assistance provided by the American Rescue Plan as well as the increased child tax credit that started helping some of the nation's poorest families this month. But they did not have a detailed understanding of the legislation or Biden's proposals focused on infrastructure, said Molly Murphy, a partner with ALG who conducted the research.

“They would talk about how the economy is doing, that it's not where it needs to be," Murphy said. “But when asking them what they had heard or seen, their awareness is pretty low." Additionally, 49 percent of the women reported paying less attention to politics since Biden took office.

American Bridge's president, Jessica Floyd, said the results highlight areas where the Democratic Party and advocates can do more to connect the economic concerns for women in these states to the policies championed by Democrats in Congress and the Biden administration. The American Families Plan, for example, while focused on expanding support for education and families with children, is also viewed by the administration as an important way to boost the economy.

Forty-three percent of the women said they trusted Democrats more than Republicans to lower health care costs, and 18 percent trusted Republicans more. The women had split views on whether Democrats or Republican would create jobs and help the economy recover.

Heading into the midterms, the stakes will be high for Democrats in Congress. The party of the president tends to lose congressional seats during midterm elections, and Democrats currently hold narrow majorities in the House and Senate. Independent voters in American Bridge's focus groups said that they see Biden as more focused on bipartisanship and indicated that lawmakers are too consumed with playing politics.

Democratic lawmakers will look to build on Biden's success with women voters, particularly those of color. Black women carried Biden to victory over former President Donald Trump, with Biden earning 90 percent of their support. Biden also won a larger share of women voters generally and independent voters than Hillary Clinton did in the 2016 presidential election.

More from The 19th

  • Democrat Abby Finkenauer launches U.S. Senate campaign in Iowa
  • Advocates pressure Congress on child care investments
  • As child tax credit payments reach families, moms see a road out of poverty

In the battleground states surveyed by American Bridge, that support for Biden appears to be holding. The economy will likely remain a key factor for women nationwide, who have been disproportionately affected by job losses and lack of childcare options during the pandemic.

American Bridge recommends that the Democratic Party's messaging make explicit connections between Biden and Democratic leaders broadly and educate voters about the economic recovery proposals that are less well known.

As part of American Bridge's effort to fill the gaps for battleground voters, the group will launch $4 million in ads targeted to voters in Pennsylvania, Arizona and Georgia, expanding on a previously announced $100 million campaign for Democrats ahead of the midterms and a seven-figure ad buy in Virginia ahead of the state's gubernatorial election in November.

The new ads tout benefits of the American Rescue Plan's support for small businesses and child tax credit for families.

From Your Site Articles
  • Other Countries Show How to Strengthen American Democracy ... ›
  • Are health care and a living wage too much for congressional ... ›
  • Christina Harvey pushes spending for healthier, easier voting - The ... ›
Related Articles Around the Web
  • Democratic Candidates Pressed On Priorities By Women Of Color ›
  • Women in Swing States Have Gender-Specific Priorities ›
  • What Women Want: Issue Priorities for Women Voters in Election ... ›
women

Want to write
for The Fulcrum?

If you have something to say about ways to protect or repair our American democracy, we want to hear from you.

Submit
Get some Leverage Sign up for The Fulcrum Newsletter
Follow
Contributors

Reform in 2023: Leadership worth celebrating

Layla Zaidane

Two technology balancing acts

Dave Anderson

Reform in 2023: It’s time for the civil rights community to embrace independent voters

Jeremy Gruber

Congress’ fix to presidential votes lights the way for broader election reform

Kevin Johnson

Democrats and Republicans want the status quo, but we need to move Forward

Christine Todd Whitman

Reform in 2023: Building a beacon of hope in Boston

Henry Santana
Jerren Chang
latest News

Ask Joe: The hope for a new global unity

Joe Weston
17h

Using bridging tools to improve workplace productivity and retention

Joan Blades
17h

Podcast: Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other: Barbara McQuade

Our Staff
19h

Political brain fog

Lawrence Goldstone
23 March

Sounding the alarm over TDS

Lynn Schmidt
23 March

Podcast: Redefining conservatism for millennials

Our Staff
23 March
Videos

Video: Ted Lasso cast at the White House press briefing

Our Staff

Video: The hidden stories in the U.S. Census

Our Staff

Video: We asked conservatives at CPAC what woke means

Our Staff

Video: DeSantis, 18 states to push back against Biden ESG agenda

Our Staff

Video: A conversation with Tiahna Pantovich

Our Staff

Video: What would happen if Trump was a third-party candidate in 2024?

Our Staff
Podcasts

Podcast: Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other: Barbara McQuade

Our Staff
19h

Podcast: Redefining conservatism for millennials

Our Staff
23 March

Podcast: Break out of your bubble: Talk to a stranger

Our Staff
22 March

Podcast: Inequitable ability: Electoral and civic challenges faced by those with disabilities

Our Staff
21 March
Recommended
Video: Ted Lasso cast at the White House press briefing

Video: Ted Lasso cast at the White House press briefing

Comedy
Ask Joe: The hope for a new global unity

Ask Joe: The hope for a new global unity

Pop Culture
Using bridging tools to improve workplace productivity and retention

Using bridging tools to improve workplace productivity and retention

Big Picture
Podcast: Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other: Barbara McQuade

Podcast: Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other: Barbara McQuade

Podcasts
Political brain fog

Political brain fog

Big Picture
Sounding the alarm over TDS

Sounding the alarm over TDS

Threats to democracy