Donations by women to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney have been declining slightly while donations by women to President Barack Obama have stayed steady since Democratic accusations of a GOP “war on women” began flying, a monthly analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics shows.
Overall, 30.7 percent of Romney’s donors are women while 44.5 percent of Obama’s supporters are women.
Democrats have been harping on Republicans for months for waging a “war on women” by trying to prevent subsidized access to contraceptives and abortions.
Romney’s campaign contributions from women dropped from 34 percent of contributions in January to 31 percent of contributions in April. President Obama has seen his contributions from women has stayed steady from 44 percent in January to 46 percent in April.
The total dollar amount Romney has received from women, however, has gone up from $1.5 million in January to $2.5 million in April. Obama has also seen his total total dollar amount increase from $2.3 million in January to $4.5 million in April.
Romney has also seen his support from female voters increase. An ABC News/Washington Post poll released last week showed that Romney had substantially closed the gender gap to a 7-percentage-point difference, with 51 percent of female voters favoring Obama and 44 percent favoring Romney.
Romney has made efforts to reach out to more women on the campaign trail. His wife Ann continues to be a popular figure both on the campaign trail and in the media. Also, the pro-Romney super PAC Restore Our Future is considering running attack ads on Obama’s record with women, according to the New York Times.
Gallup notes that Obama’s support among women reflects long-term differences in political preferences among men and women, rather than the recent rhetoric over the Republicans waging a “war on women.”
Women are more likely to support Democrats than Republicans, while men are more likely to support Republicans than Democrats, a trend that goes back to Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
Obama also has a gender gap in his support as well. Over the past three years, his approval rating among men has consistently been 5 or 6 percentage points lower than his approval among women, according to Gallup. In April, his approval among women was 50 percent, but only 44 percent among men.
Overall, Obama leads in a Real Clear Politics average by 2 percentage points over Romney.
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