EMILY’s List Unveils Ohio WOMEN VOTE! Campaign

Poll Shows Deep Concerns on the Economy and Great Confidence in Clinton's Ability to Bring Solutions

For Release: February 19, 2008

Washington, D.C. – Democratic women in Ohio are extraordinarily anxious about the direction of economy and extremely confident in Hillary Clinton’s ability to do something about it from day one in the White House. These are the key findings of a survey of Ohio Democratic women who are likely to vote in the March 4th primary. EMILY’s List WOMEN VOTE!, a nationwide voter mobilization and education project of EMILY’s List, commissioned the survey to create a tailored program to reach out to Democratic women in Ohio. Based on the survey, and building on more than a decade of experience in mobilizing women voters, the EMILY’s List Ohio Women Vote program will begin a campaign to reach out to nearly 150,000 women voters in Ohio through the mail and over the phone in the final days leading up to the Ohio presidential primary.

Women Will be the Margin of Victory in Ohio

For any candidate seeking the Democratic nomination for president of the United States, women are a must-win segment of the electorate. Nationally, women made up 52 percent of the Democratic primary electorate in the 2004 presidential election. Turnout expectations are high for 2008 since the share of women voters has increased anywhere from two to seven percent in the primaries and caucuses held to date. With the one exception of Connecticut, in every state where a Democratic candidate has carried the women’s vote they have also carried the popular vote.

Ohio Women are More Committed to Hillary Clinton

The survey showed Senator Hillary Clinton holds a substantial—14 point lead—over Senator Barack Obama among likely women voters in the Democratic primary election in Ohio. Fifty-one (51 percent) of those voters support Senator Clinton compared to 37 percent who support Senator Obama, with 11 percent who remain undecided. Among these women, likely to vote in the upcoming March 4th primary, 81 percent hold a favorable view of Senator Clinton and 73 percent hold a favorable view of Senator Obama. While both candidates are viewed favorably by women, in the head to head match up, Senator Clinton maintains a 13 point advantage among those women who hold favorable views toward both candidates. Clinton’s support is also stronger than Obama’s support. Among Clinton voters, 69 percent say they are very certain that they will vote for Clinton. Among Obama voters, 59 percent say they are very certain that they will vote for Obama.

Survey Shows Enormous Anxiety On the Economy and Confidence in Clinton

Women voters in Ohio are very pessimistic about the direction of the country and of the economy. Ninety (90) percent of these voters think the country is pretty seriously off on the wrong track, and 75 percent believe that the economy in their area is getting worse.

The pessimism and economic anxiety combine to make these voters receptive to Senator Clinton’s experience and solutions-focused message. Senator Clinton leads by 19 percent among those voters who choose jobs and health care as their top issue concerns, and she leads by 10 percent among those who cite the war in Iraq as a top concern.

Senator Clinton also maintains a substantial lead among those voters who are feeling the pressures of the economic downturn most acutely. She leads 62 percent to 26 percent among those women voters with no college education and leads 57 percent to 28 percent for Obama among union households. In addition, women voters in Ohio rate Senator Clinton more highly than Senator Obama on a series of traits relating to the presidency. She has a 54 point advantage over Obama on having the experience to be president and a 24 point advantage on being a strong commander in chief. Voters also believe she shares their values (12 point Clinton advantage over Obama) and understands the financial stresses facing their family (12 point Clinton advantage).

EMILY’s List Ohio WOMEN VOTE! Program Begins This Week

The EMILY’s List Ohio WOMEN VOTE! program will start tomorrow reaching out to nearly 150,000 Democratic women voters throughout the state in these last days before the March 4th primary. Utilizing new targeting techniques and traditional field tactics, the program will work to reach women who are most concerned about the economy. That universe of voters will include non-college educated women, rural women, and older women who have suffered most in this economic down-turn and thus have the most at stake in this election. The series of mailings and phone calls, will share important information on Senator Hillary Clinton and her strength and experience as a leader. The pieces will also utilize a critical peer-to-peer style of communication featuring the pictures and voices of Ohio women and messages inspired by their real-life perspective on the issues.

EMILY’s List WOMEN VOTE! has worked for more than a decade to inform and engage women voters in the electoral process on the premise that when women vote, women win. “Women are a critical sector of the electorate in a primary since they tend to make up a large majority of the turnout in an election.” said Maren Hesla, EMILY’s List WOMEN VOTE! director. “It is our hope that through our efforts these women will see what we know to be true – that Senator Hillary Clinton is the candidate with the strength and experience to address the economic issues facing Ohio families and bring real change to our country.”

Launched in 1995, EMILY’s List WOMEN VOTE! works to expand the Democratic electorate and motivate millions of women to vote. The historic EMILY’s List WOMEN VOTE! program, combines polling and research, advanced information technology, sophisticated message testing, and precinct-by-precinct field work to mobilize millions of women voters across the country. EMILY’s List designed WOMEN VOTE! to build a progressive political base that will elect more Democrats, especially women, by helping to increase turnout among women voters year after year.

EMILY's List Survey of Ohio Women Primary Voters
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