College-Educated Women Are Moving Away From GOP

When Republicans regained control of the House in 2010, they were propelled by a big swing toward the party among women. Now, signs are emerging Republicans could be handicapped in 2018 by women shifting away from the GOP.

In particular, women with a four-year college degree have moved toward favoring Democratic control of Congress, recent polling shows, helping to account for a substantial Democratic lead in multiple surveys on the question of which party Americans want to see leading Congress after the midterm elections.

The latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows Democrats with a 20-point edge among women on control of Congress. That lead is larger than the 12-point Democratic edge among women during the last midterms, in 2014.

The Democratic advantage is even bigger among women with college degrees. These women would rather see Democrats than Republicans lead Congress by 32 percentage points, 62% to 30%, far larger than the party’s edge among these women in the past two midterm years, the latest Journal/NBC News survey found.

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The dynamic is different in rural areas, where support for the president tends to be strong. Debra Brydon, a community health nurse in rural Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s degree, said that the past year had solidified her support for Republicans.

“The motivating factor for me is that the Democrats won’t work with the president,” she said. “My son is a coal miner. He’s now worked a full year with no layoffs. That’s directly related to Trump.”

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Mary Strausbaugh, a retiree with a bachelor’s degree who lives in suburban Harrisburg, Pa., said she plans to vote Democratic in 2018, even though she has long considered herself to be a Republican. She said she had grown uncomfortable with the GOP’s position on immigration, among other issues.

Ms. Strausbaugh said her daughter, a recent college graduate who lives with her because of student loan debt, had suddenly become politically engaged this year, with a strong lean toward Democratic candidates and causes. “She’s writing congresspeople. It began with the Women’s March in January, and now it’s the ‘me too’ movement,” she said. “She’ll be active all next year.”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/college-educated-women-are-moving-away-from-gop-1514293200