Other big Republican efforts to woo women include Sarah Palin's endorsement of Iowa Senate candidate Joni Ernst. Ernst trails Democrat Bruce Braley among women nonetheless.
Republicans are still chasing the lady voters, figuring they should at least be able to run up the 2014 vote among the white suburban women who voted strongly for Mitt Romney in 2012. And now, in addition to pointing to the handful of Republican women running for office and scoffing "See, a woman! Regardless of her policy positions, she can't possible be part of war on women," Republicans are
bringing the data:
About three weeks of internal polling and focus group research has identified jobs and household finances as the most important issues among 1,206 likely women voters, according to the Republican National Committee, which commissioned the surveys along with the National Republican Congressional Campaign.
Party officials said Obamacare was also a top issue, with 55 percent of women polled opposing President Barack Obama's signature domestic policy and 43 percent voicing strong opposition.
Hmm. That Republican poll is finding an awful lot more opposition to Obamacare than other polls, like the
recent Bloomberg poll in which 32 percent of people thought Obamacare should be repealed, 56 percent agreed with the statement "It may need small modifications, but we should see how it works," and 10 percent wanted it left alone. It's not just that the "Republicans talk to women" poll shows something different than the majority of polls. It's that
it's a Republican poll, and
Republican pollsters suck.
While women overall are clear in their dislike of the Republican Party, it's certainly the case that there are demographics of women who are likely to vote Republican. And you can't fault Republicans for actually talking to voters other than rich white dudes. But maybe they shouldn't be so quick to publicize polling results that are significantly at odds with other polling, especially given their party's poor track record on polling.
That said, if Republicans want to tailor their 2014 message around questionable polling, I'm all for it.