Academic

The Super Tuesday Gender Gap

By Ann Bartow

From the Feminist Daily News:

In most of the 16 Super Tuesday states the gender gap– or the differences in women?s and men?s votes– was a dominating factor. In the democratic state primaries, women comprised, on the average, 58% of the vote while men were 42% for a whopping 16% gender gap. In the Republican primaries, men were the majority of voters, on the average 53%, women 47%, for a 6% gender gap. However, overall gender gaps were small for candidates in Republican primaries.

Senator Hillary Clinton won nine of the 16 Democratic state primaries. In every state Clinton won with a majority of women voters. The gender gaps in voting for Clinton ranged from 14% in both Massachusetts (62% women/48% men) and California (59% women/45% men) to essentially no gender gap in Oklahoma, where she carried a majority of women and men.

Senator Barack Obama won six state Democratic primaries with a majority of men voting for him in all but Missouri, where he barely defeated Clinton 49% to 48%. In three primaries (Alabama, Georgia, and Illinois) Obama received a majority of women?s votes also. In two state primaries Clinton a majority of men?s votes (Arkansas and Oklahoma).

Full post as published by Feminist Law Professors on February 09, 2008 (boomark / email).