White suburban women shift support from Democrats to GOP as midterm elections near: Poll

Cami Mondeaux

November 02, 09:43 AM November 02, 09:43 AM

White suburban women have shifted their support in large numbers from Democrats to Republicans in the final stretch of the midterm cycle, particularly as the crucial voting bloc has become increasingly concerned with the economy and inflation.

White women living in suburban areas, a key voting group that helped Democrats seize control of the House in the 2018 midterm elections, favor Republican candidates for Congress over Democrats by 15 percentage points, according to the most recent poll from the Wall Street Journal. The latest numbers reflect rising concerns about the economy and a fading importance on abortion, giving Republicans an advantage less than one week until Election Day.

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“We’re talking about a collapse, if you will, in that group on the perceptions of the economy,” said Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio, who conducted the poll with Democratic pollster John Anzalone.

More than half of suburban women (54%) say they think the country is already in a recession, and another 75% think the economy is headed in the wrong direction, according to the poll. Those are both increases from a similar poll conducted in August, in which 43% of white women said the economy had entered a recession and 59% said the economy was going in the wrong direction.

Rising costs emerged as the top issue motivating white suburban women to vote in the midterm elections, with 34% putting that as their No. 1 priority, followed by threats to democracy (28%) and abortion rights (28%), according to the poll. That could spell trouble for Democrats, who largely banked on the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade as a major motivator to increase voter turnout in their favor.

Although abortion has remained a top issue for the voting group, other concerns have largely eclipsed its momentum.

“It’s absolutely true that these women have shifted their gaze more on the economy than abortion,” said Democratic pollster Molly Murphy, who collaborated on the poll. “They think we’re in a recession. A majority are feeling financial strain in this economy.”

Of all white suburban women, 85% said they were “very” motivated to vote, making them among the most active groups expected to go to the polls next week.

The Wall Street Journal poll surveyed 1,500 registered voters between Oct. 22-26 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.7 percentage points.