Warren slipping with women
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s unfavorable ratings among women in the Granite State have ballooned by five points since she accused rival U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of saying a woman can’t win the White House, a new poll shows.
Warren has also lost support from both male and female voters in New Hampshire despite a new campaign push focusing on the Bay State senator’s electability and female electability in general, Monday’s Franklin Pierce University-Boston Herald-NBC 10 poll shows.
“Can we just address it right here? Women win,” Warren said at a 300-person rally in Davenport, Iowa, Sunday. “Women candidates have been outperforming men candidates — since Donald Trump was elected — in competitive elections.”
Warren’s “Women Win,” stump speech follows her bitter clash with progressive frenemy Sanders, who she claims told her that a woman can’t get elected president. The issue boiled over following a Jan. 14 debate when Warren refused to shake Sanders’ hand and said she believed Sanders called her a liar on television.
“So far, the polling doesn’t seem to indicate that worked very well for her,” said Brian Schaffner, a political science professor at Tufts University who specializes in public opinion and political campaigns.
According to a Jan. 13 FPU, Herald, NBC10 poll, 12% of Granite State female respondents had an unfavorable view of Warren. That number jumped to 17% in Monday’s poll, conducted between Jan. 23-26.
The poll puts Sanders in the lead with 29% of the vote, former Vice President Joe Biden follows with 22%, and Warren has 16% of the vote, according to the poll of 736 likely New Hampshire voters.
Warren is also struggling with male voters, with 11% of men in the poll backing her and 18% of women. Sanders has picked up a majority of male supporters — with 34% of men polled backing him and 26% of women.
But the Vermont senator’s unfavorable ratings have also increased since his clash with Warren, with 19% of women viewing him unfavorably in Monday’s poll. That’s a four-point increase since Jan. 13 poll that showed 15% of women viewed him unfavorably.
“Sanders does have some pretty fundamental weaknesses,” said Matt Dallek, a political science professor from the University of Southern California. “This shows that he does have a problem with women, and if Democrats truly want to find someone who can defeat Trump they’re going to need women.”
Much can change depending on the outcome of the Feb. 3 caucuses, said Schaffner, especially with 9% of New Hampshire voters still undecided, according to the poll.
“You have a lot of people who haven’t really decided yet. The dynamics of this race are still wide open,” said Schaffner.