Democratic pollster Silas Lee referred to last week’s midterm contests as an “anxiety election” for women in an interview Wednesday on Hill.TV’s “What America’s Thinking.”
“This was an anxiety election, and the candidates were able to communicate the experiences that they live, and how that impacts voters, and households,” Lee, a sociology professor at Xavier University, told Hill.TV’s Joe Concha. “They [female candidates] were authentic in communicating that message, and they developed a credibility with voters that many male candidates could not develop
Lee pointed to institutional challenges women face on a daily basis as a motivation for how they ultimately voted in the midterm elections.
“Women are significant, if not major contributors to the households. They have to live and survive under pay disparities, economic disparities, the pink tax, paying more for goods and services than men,” he said. “They were concerned about the institutionalization of disparities that impact not only them but also their families.”
A Pew Research Center survey released after last week’s elections found that 59 percent of women voted for Democratic candidates, while 40 percent voted for a Republican candidate.
— Julia Manchester
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.