Hillary Clinton has officially announced her decision to participate in the 2016 presidential campaign. Although she campaigned in the 2008 election and lost the Democratic primary to President Barack Obama, this campaign will likely hold more promise for Clinton. I believe that women will likely flock to Clinton with the purpose of making history.
Clinton has already begun her tour and is making stops throughout the country. This past week, Clinton stopped in Keene and made a stop to tour Whitney Brothers and a café. Her support is already growing, especially from the female population.
Just like with President Barack Obama and his popularity among black voters, my opinion is that Clinton will be able to gain women voters. However, some of these women voters will likely have tunnel vision. They will only be on the mission to reach gender equality and make history — which is undoubtedly an important mission and exactly what Clinton will likely represent in the campaign. Some women will vote for her because they support her policies.
AP photo / JIM COLE
On the other hand, others will vote for her simply because she is a woman and they believe her presence in the White House will bring more success for women in America. And those left are the women who stand strongly in their beliefs and will not vote for Clinton because they simply disagree with her policies. Clinton’s gender is likely to overshadow her long list of political achievements and years of experience as well as her political policies, and this could both help her and hurt her in this campaign. Either way, one thing is sure: the women of America will most likely support Clinton because she has the potential to represent them in an area they have never been represented before — on the presidential ballot.
According to ABC’s polls, 96 percent of African Americans that turned out for voting were expected to vote for Obama in 2008. With Obama as the Democratic candidate in 2008, 2 million more black voters turned out than in 2004. Blacks had the highest turnout rate among 18 to 24-year-olds. Antonio Moore of the Huffington Post stated, “Black votes were simply based on the faith that President Barack Obama’s presence in the White House meant more for Black people than any singular legislative action . . . There was a belief among African Americans he would have their interest at heart once elected.” This is the same belief women will have regarding Clinton when following her throughout the campaign. NBC News stated that national polls have shown that Democrats have an advantage over Republicans when it comes to women voters. I believe even more women will support Hillary simply because of her gender and what it represents to women of America, thus giving Clinton an advantage.
Two female Senate candidates showed just how much gender plays a role in voter support. Last November, Iowa Republican, Joni Ernst, and Georgia Democrat, Michele Nunn, both outperformed the national average at national exit polls for the women voters by two points. Ernst won 49 percent, whereas the Republican national average is 47 percent. Nunn won 53 percent, whereas the Democratic national average is 51 percent. Looking more closely at the Democratic turnout, Democrats tend to have more difficulty gaining the votes of white women. As stated by Mark Ambinder of the online magazine The Week, the Democratic party has not won the majority of white women votes since 1996, the same year President Bill Clinton won his second term in office. Ambinder states that Democrats have been able to get more young women, black women and hispanic women voters but not white women.
Being that Bill Clinton was able to get the majority of white women voters and Hillary represents white women, it is an achievable goal for Hillary to reach. Ambinder goes on to state, “Being female — or being Hillary — confers a real advantage.” According to The Week, “In 2014, fifty-eight percent of white women said they’d vote for Clinton [in] a matchup with named Republicans…White women are why Clinton is in such strong shape now. They will be the key to her eventual success or defeat.” If Clinton gains the Democratic candidate seat, she will have already made history. Neither majority party has ever seen a woman candidate for a presidential campaign. Clinton received more than 17 million votes during her 2008 nomination process and it is likely that, this time, Clinton will make it to the primaries with the help of women voters.
John Cassidy of the New Yorker stated, “An important part of her message, and one that the all-male Republican field may well have trouble countering, is that it’s high time for America to elect a female President.” The power of making history and voting for someone who represents gender equality may be too much for the Democratic party to compete with as the women who rally around Clinton will show up at the polls in large numbers.
Taylor Howe can be contacted at thowe@kscequinox.com
