Voters’ gender gap may benefit Clinton
WASHINGTON — As she prepares for a formal announcement of a run for the presidency, expected in the next few weeks, Hillary Rodham Clinton continues to benefit from the high degree of popularity she enjoys among women.
The latest evidence of the long-standing gender gap in perceptions of Clinton comes from a Gallup poll released Friday.
By 56% to 32%, women in the nationwide poll had a favorable view of Clinton. Men, by contrast, split almost evenly, with 44% viewing her positively and 45% negatively.
The 12-point difference between the shares of men and women holding a favorable view of Clinton significantly exceeded the gender gap that is typical for Democratic politicians.
President Obama, for example, now has a 4-point gap, with 49% of women and 45% of men approving of his job performance in Gallup’s latest survey.
As the comparison with Obama indicates, Clinton is a net beneficiary of the gender gap — she fares no worse among men than a typical Democrat, but does better among women.
Consider married women, for example, a group that often has sided with Republican candidates.
In the 2012 election, Mitt Romney bested Obama among married women, 53% to 46%. By contrast, Clinton receives favorable views among that group by 50% to 39% at this point.
But favorability now will not necessarily amount to votes in November 2016. Whether Clinton’s edge among women will last once the campaign fully engages remains a key question mark for her.
The gender gap in views of Clinton extends through all major demographic and political groups. White women, for example, viewed her favorably by 50% to 42% in the poll, while among white men, negative views were in the majority, 56% to 37%.
Among Americans older than 50, a majority of women had a positive view of Clinton, while a majority of men saw her negatively. Among self-identified Republicans, only 19% of men viewed Clinton favorably, compared with 26% of women.
The Gallup survey was conducted March 2-4 among 1,522 American adults using land lines and cellphones. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.