Independent women voters have massively shifted from Democrats toward Republicans in the race for Congress as a faltering economy becomes an ever-larger issue, according to a New York Times/Siena poll released Monday.
Republican candidates are now polling 18 points higher for independent women voters compared to September, when Democrats were favored by 14 points, reflecting a 32-point spread, the poll reported. Following the overturn of Roe v. Wade, many women identified with Democrats who ran on pro-choice platforms, yet the recent poll shows rising inflation and household costs are now key issues for women voters. (RELATED: New York Times Poll Shows Bleak Outlook For Democrats Less Than A Month Before Election Day)
One woman who recently identified as a Democrat, Robin Ackerman, told The New York Times that she switched stances due to Republicans being more business-oriented. “I’m shifting more towards Republican because I feel like they’re more geared towards business,” she said.
Ackerman disagrees with the overturning of Roe v. Wade “1000%,” yet it “doesn’t really have a lot to do with my decision. I’m more worried about other things,” she said.
“The biggest shift came from women who identified as independent voters. In September, they favored Democrats by 14 points. Now, independent women backed Republicans by 18 points”
via @NYTimes https://t.co/jl4MDhNdTy
— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) October 17, 2022
Though women have shown a strong shift towards Republican candidates for Congress, the overall race is still close, reported the poll. That being said, Republican candidates hold the lead with 49% of likely voters saying they would vote for a Republican compared to 45% who said they will vote Democrat.
Overall, 45% of voters responded that they strongly disapprove of President Joe Biden and, of that group, 90% plan to back a Republican on Nov. 8, the poll reported.
The poll surveyed 792 likely voters from Oct. 9 to 12 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.
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