A recent New York Times/CBS News poll found a clear difference between the favored parties of ladies and gentlemen, with women strongly favoring Democrats and men seeing red. (A lot of it.)
More men said that they were planning to vote for the Republican candidate, rather than the Democratic candidate in their district, by a margin of 45 percent to 32 percent. According to the New York Times, “the poll suggests that men are angrier than women, and that their anger may be more motivating than the sense of hopelessness expressed by women, particularly on economic issues.”
This isn’t really new news. Women have been favoring Democrats since the Reagan years. So why does this gender balance matter? Well, even though guys are outnumbered by women—who (in recent history) have been more likely to make it to the voting booth—this year marked a sea change in that trend.
Based on elections thus far, women have been paring back their participation, as guys have started amping up their interest. Men are now more likely than women to say that they are paying attention and enthusiastic about the current campaign.
“I’m enthusiastic about candidates that want to talk about fiscal conservatism. I am dissatisfied with the performance of both the president and the Democrat-controlled Congress,” said Ray Barrow of Reston, Va., a 69-year-old independent who voted for Mr. Obama. “I’m going to vote for candidates who believe in fiscal conservatism and the right way to spend to create jobs.”