Republicans have a young woman problem

Hi rulers! This week I learned that, in many hunter gather societies, women hunted just as much as men. My female hunter ancestors would probably be embarrassed to know that I’ve been vegetarian for 14 years. Let’s get to it!

Young women are increasingly voting for Democrats. The GOP agrees that they need to fix that – now they just need to agree on how.

In the 2022 midterms, young women broke hard for Democratic candidates. According to CNN exit polling, 72 percent of women between the ages of 18-29 voted Democratic in house races nationwide, compared to 26 percent of young women who voted for Republicans. (Polling data for the 2018 midterms doesn’t break down age and gender, but 59 percent of women of all ages voted for Democrats in house races that year.) Meanwhile, the percentage of young women who identify as liberal has been steadily increasing for the last several years.

Republicans strategists say if the GOP doesn’t find a way to better appeal to young women, they run the risk of missing out on a key group in a general election that’s sure to be decided on razor-thin margins. But Republicans have conflicting opinions about what might bring that bloc over to the GOP.

“It would be the perfect time to come up with a cohesive plan to speak to women, clearly has not happened,” says Jennifer Lim, the founder and executive director of Republican Women for Progress.

Why the disenchantment with the GOP? No surprises here: experts say that the recent shift likely has everything to do with abortion. After all, 71 percent of young women say that abortion should be legal in most or all cases.

“Young women did have a big increase in voting Democratic even though they normally are more Democratic,” says William Frey, a senior fellow with Brookings Metro who analyzed exit polls from the 2022 midterm. “I think you can chalk that up, to some degree, to the abortion issue.”

“The huge turnout we saw this past midterm is a direct result of the rollback of freedoms related directly to abortion,” says Jessica Herrera, the communications and marketing director for Supermajority, a left-leaning organization that aims to up women’s participation in elections.

So how does the GOP hope to remedy this ideological divide before November 2024? Conservative CNN commentator Alice Stewart thinks that Republicans need to change how they talk about abortion, without necessarily changing their policies.

“I fought really hard for overturning Roe v. Wade, and I’m extremely pro-life and unapologetically pro-life,” Stewart tells Women Rule.

“I also acknowledged that it has been a double-edged sword because that issue has motivated pro-abortion voters. This obviously is an issue that is important for younger voters, women voters, and we need to make sure that they understand that abortion isn’t the only option.”

Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL), one of the youngest women in Congress, echoed that sentiment. As she sees it, the GOP needs to make sure that pregnant women have support systems in place so they don’t need an abortion in the first place.

“Being pro-life is not just being pro-life in the womb. It’s being pro-life after the fact,” says Cammack, who serves as the Bipartisan Congressional Pro-Life Caucus co-chair.

All too often, she says, some “political personalities” oversimplify the issue.

“There’s so many times women feel like they don’t have options or resources. So you’ve really seen in the last several years, a significant push for additional resources for crisis pregnancy centers really looking to support adoption and fostering initiatives.” (Crisis pregnancy centers have become something of a rallying point for Democrats, who argue they’re often misleading about their mission.)

Cammack also notes young women are not a monolith – and that they care about a plurality of issues outside of abortion. “For the longest time, the GOP has treated women like single issue voters,” she says.

Karoline Leavitt, who became the first Republican Gen Z congressional nominee during her unsuccessful 2022 bid to unseat Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), agrees that the GOP needs to lean into a variety of other issues that she believes will motivate young women.

She names crime and economic issues as two hard hitters. “Women want good paying jobs, too. We don’t want to be unable to afford our groceries or our gas bills. We want safety in our communities.”

Eileen Sobjack, president of the National Federation of Republican Women, tells Women Rule she thinks the key might be in getting more young women into positions of power in the GOP – which she hopes will encourage other young women to join the party.

“We need more women of all ages. We need that perspective.” Sobjack said. “We need more of them running – and in Congress and in the Senate.”

“In addition to not having any women represented in the field besides Nikki Haley, [the GOP] is still not addressing any issues women are dealing with,” says Lim of Republican Women for Progress.

“So if you’re a younger woman, and you’re watching this presidential election, there’s still nothing to attract you to the Republican Party.”

But even pushing for more women in politics is controversial among the party’s most conservative faction. At Turning Point USA’s annual Young Women’s Leadership Summit in June, conservative podcast host Alex Clark, who is a woman herself, said that “politics should not be a priority right now for conservative women.” Women, she said, would be happier if they would “go back to biblical roots and what God had designed for women to do.”

POLITICO Special Report

“Clarence Thomas, Ketanji Brown Jackson air sharp disagreement on race in America,” by Josh Gerstein for POLITICO: “Jackson’s 28-page dissent defended the use of race-conscious programs to ameliorate the pervasive, present-day effects of America’s history of state-sponsored racism.”

“New York Dems put abortion on the ballot in bid to retake the House,” by Brittany Gibson for POLITICO: “Left-leaning New York groups pledged $20 million Thursday to support a change to the New York State constitution to protect abortion rights that will be on the 2024 ballot — something they believe will boost turnout for Democrats in key swing House districts..”

“Harris on the hot seat: Veep has critical stretch ahead as campaign heats up,” by Eugene Daniels for POLITICO.

“Michelle Obama speaks about how affirmative action personally affected her college life,” by Lucy Hodgman for POLITICO.

Number of the Week

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MUST READS

“Migrant women find work building New York, their adopted city,” by Stefanos Chen and Ana Ley for the New York Times: “Attracted by the prospect of steadier work and better pay, more migrant women are entering the male-dominated construction industry, social service providers said, at a time when the city is struggling to accommodate tens of thousands of asylum seekers.”

“Women Interviewing for Bill Gates’s Private Office Were Asked Sexually Explicit Questions,” by Khadeeja Safdar and Emily Glazer for the Wall Street Journal.

“The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is a game changer for U.S. women. Here’s why,” by Megan Cerullo for CBS News: “Starting Tuesday, millions of U.S. workers will gain vastly expanded protections under a new law that bars employers from discriminating against pregnant women and requires companies to provide accommodations so they can keep doing their jobs while they’re expecting.”

“Women in Leadership Face Ageism at Every Age,” by Amy Diehl, Leanne M. Dzubinski, and Amber L. Stephenson for Harvard Business Review.

Quote of the Week

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Transitions

Marta Hansen is now a national program manager at Power the Polls. She most recently ran national partnerships for Power the Polls and was Assistant Dean of the Women’s Community Center at Stanford University. …

Cecilia Rouse will be president of Brookings. She currently is a Katzman-Ernst professor in economics and education at Princeton University and is a Biden White House alum. …

Karla McKanders is joining the Thurgood Marshall Institute as director. She previously was a professor for critical race theory and immigration law at Vanderbilt University Law School. …

Kelley Hudak is now director of federal relations at the American Petroleum Institute. She most recently was director of government affairs at Tyson Foods and is a Steve Scalise alum (h/t Playbook.)