Democrats, Republicans Reach Out to Women Voters
SMU Political Science Professor Dennis Simon talks about both major political parties' efforts to appear "women-friendly."
By Maria-Pia Negro
Capital News Service
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Women voters were the target of much of the rhetoric at the Republican and Democratic conventions in the past two weeks, but analysts say their appeals to that key demographic were distinctly different.
Both parties showcased their high-achieving women at the podium, but the words they used and issues they chose to highlight hit different segments of the population. . .
“The Republicans were on the defensive because there has been a lot said about a so-called war on women,” by the GOP, said Dennis Simon, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
Republicans, he said, avoided talking about reproductive rights and extending contraceptive benefits, or talked about them in neutral language.
“What the Republicans are trying to do is to say, ‘There is room for conservative women in this party,’” Simon said.
Simon, an expert on presidential elections, public opinion and electoral behavior, said Democrats are using their speakers to reinforce a message that says they are a “more women-friendly party.”
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