How Could Gender Affect the Presidential Election?

As voters head to the polls, the gender divide remains a key voting split, with polling suggesting that women favor Harris and men favor Trump.

From the Left: An ABC News (Lean Left bias) poll published on Sunday showed Harris had an 11-point lead with women, while Trump had a 5-point lead with men, making the gender gap 16 points. ABC mentioned endorsements from celebrities like former First Lady Michelle Obama and Beyoncé and Trump’s appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast as examples of each candidate targeting their own gender’s votes.

From the Center: A report from BBC News (Center bias) highlighted how the intersection of race and gender could play a role. It cited a recent Harvard poll that found Harris’ lead with white women under 30 was 13 points, compared to a 55-point advantage with non-white women under 30. BBC noted that with white women of all ages, Trump has beaten his Democratic challenger in the last two elections and that the Democrats have struggled with white non-college-educated voters of both genders.

From the Right: An opinion from Liz Peek (Lean Right bias) of Fox News (Right bias) argued that if Harris wins it will be because “men failed to show up.” Peek noted that in 2020, there were 89 million registered female voters, compared to 79.3 million men. She also pointed to the 2022 midterms to back up her thesis, writing, “many expected a ‘red wave’” that “didn’t happen,” because of “women, and especially white female college grads” who “were motivated by the overturning of Roe v Wade.”