According to a poll issued last week by the Pew Research Center, Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole trails President Clinton by only two percentage points among men (46 to 48) but by twenty points among women (37 to 57). With the boost from women, Clinton leads Dole by 12 percentage points overall.
The gender gap is issue-based. Frank Wilkinson, spokesperson for EMILY’s List, commented that women are dissatisfied with the Republican majority in Congress that has slashed spending on the old and the poor. “Women know that if the government doesn’t take care of their aged parents, they will have to do it because their husbands surely won’t,” Wilkinson said. Clinton also appeals to women because of his stance on abortion rights and women’s rights.
