First Read: “If you want to know why the Obama White House today is holding another round of events focused on women and equal pay, it’s this important reminder: Female voters have been the difference between Democrats winning and losing elections… The secret to Democratic electoral success is directly through female voters. They know it, and they plan to try to expand that potential advantage via any issue they can (from the economy and health care to contraception).”
Morning Line: “Another key here in a midterm, however, is not just women as a whole, but, in particular, minority and unmarried women. In 2010, for example, turnout dropped among minority and unmarried women. Black women and Latinas combined were down as a share of the electorate 2 points from 2008 (10 percent vs. 12 percent) and 4 points from 2012 (14 percent). Unmarried women were also off 2 points as a share of the electorate (21 percent vs. 23 percent) from 2012. Those numbers may sound small, but they can mean millions of votes.”
“Consider: more than 10 million fewer unmarried women showed up to vote in 2010 than 2008. That’s one-in-three unmarried women, who decided to stay home. Yes, turnout is always down in midterms, but that outpaces married/unmarried men or married women. Democrats and the White House see and know those numbers. They’re the group Democrats are aiming at directly.”
