On Monday, I noted the results of a Rasmussen poll that showed Barack Obama gaining strength among women with Hillary Clinton having suspended her campaign.
Today, Gallup reports that not only is Obama gaining support among women, he is actually running as strongly with them as Clinton did.
Since Hillary Clinton decided to concede the Democratic nomination to Barack Obama last week, Obama has established a lead over Republican John McCain in general-election polling. Obama's gains have come more from women than men, though he has picked up among both groups in recent days.Nobody should find these results surprising. Despite the threats from some prominent Clinton supporters, and the hype from certain corners of the news media, I always found it inconceivable that Democratic women would reject Obama in favor of a retrograde conservative like McCain.
Obama's lead among women has now expanded from five percentage points to 13, while his deficit among men has shrunk from six points to two.
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One of Clinton's core groups of supporters during the nomination phase of the campaign was older women. During the last few days of her active candidacy, Clinton led McCain by 51% to 41% among women aged 50 and older, while Obama trailed McCain among this group, 46% to 43%.
Since Clinton suspended her campaign, older women's vote preferences have shifted toward Obama, so that he now enjoys a six-point advantage over McCain.
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Now that Clinton is no longer campaigning and the focus of voters' decision-making is a choice between Obama and McCain, female voters may be taking a second look at Obama. Indeed, his current 13-point advantage over McCain is essentially the same advantage that Clinton held over McCain throughout her active candidacy.
