Kamala Harris attacked Donald Trump today for declaring at a rally last night that he would protect women “whether the women like it or not.” Her comments were the latest push in an aggressive effort by the Harris campaign to appeal to a group of suburban, moderate or conservative white women that they believe are still persuadable.
These women, perhaps more than any other group, could decide the election, pollsters and strategists say. White women are the country’s largest voting demographic, making up about 30 percent of the electorate, and they consistently turn out at very high rates. They favored Trump in the last two presidential races, but Harris has inched ahead slightly with them in recent polls.
Like other groups, white women list the economy as their top concern. But abortion rights is a close second, and an avenue by which Democrats believe they can win over some votes. In response, Trump — like many Republicans in competitive races — has tried to soften his opposition to abortion.
Trump’s campaign, however, appears to be focused on securing the votes of young men, who they believe can help tip the scales in his favor.
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Your questions: We asked Campbell Robertson, a national reporter, this question from a reader.
Why is Pennsylvania a swing state? What demographics are responsible for it being so? — Rebecca Ihlström, Sweden
Campbell: On Pennsylvania’s corners sit two large, Democratic-voting cities — Philadelphia and Pittsburgh — surrounded by bands of increasingly liberal suburbs. But about half of Pennsylvania residents live outside these two major metro areas, in smaller cities and rural areas across the state. Many of these places were once humming with steel mills and factories, and home to many union members, a reliable Democratic base.
But as industry declined over the decades, the electorate in these areas steadily moved toward the right. The share of college-educated adults is growing in Pennsylvania, as is the number of non-white voters. But currently, a slight majority of the state’s voters are white people without college degrees, Trump’s most reliable demographic.