Americans Are More Likely To See Harris' Gender As A Hurdle Than They Were For Clinton
8 weeks ago
Americans are more likely to believe that being a woman will hurt Kamala Harris ' chances in the November election, compared with eight years ago when Hillary Clinton was running. And they are more likely to believe that Donald Trump 's gender will help him.
A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research indicates a shift in attitudes among U.S. adults in the time between the candidacies of the first and second female major-party nominees.
About 4 in 10 Americans think Harris’ gender will hurt her chances of getting elected this fall. During the 2016 campaign, about 3 in 10 said the same about Clinton’s gender.
The shift in attitudes is largely driven by Democrats — particularly Democratic men. About 3 in 10 Democratic men thought Clinton’s gender would hurt her “somewhat” or “a lot” prior to her loss to Trump. About half now say that about Harris.
“I would say this country doesn’t really have an outstanding track record of supporting female candidates,” said Julian Zeng, a 34-year-old copy editor and writer from California who is a Democrat.
Democratic women have also grown more likely to say being a woman could be a hurdle for a presidential candidate: About 4 in 10 Democratic women said Clinton’s gender would hurt her, and about half say that about Harris now. Republican men only shifted slightly, and Republican women’s views remained stable.
Americans are also more likely to see Trump’s gender as something that will help his chances of being elected. About 4 in 10 U.S. adults now say that being a man is something that will help him, up from around 3 in 10 when the same question was asked in an AP-NORC poll during his 2016 campaign.
A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research indicates a shift in attitudes among U.S. adults in the time between the candidacies of the first and second female major-party nominees.
About 4 in 10 Americans think Harris’ gender will hurt her chances of getting elected this fall. During the 2016 campaign, about 3 in 10 said the same about Clinton’s gender.
The shift in attitudes is largely driven by Democrats — particularly Democratic men. About 3 in 10 Democratic men thought Clinton’s gender would hurt her “somewhat” or “a lot” prior to her loss to Trump. About half now say that about Harris.
“I would say this country doesn’t really have an outstanding track record of supporting female candidates,” said Julian Zeng, a 34-year-old copy editor and writer from California who is a Democrat.
Democratic women have also grown more likely to say being a woman could be a hurdle for a presidential candidate: About 4 in 10 Democratic women said Clinton’s gender would hurt her, and about half say that about Harris now. Republican men only shifted slightly, and Republican women’s views remained stable.
Americans are also more likely to see Trump’s gender as something that will help his chances of being elected. About 4 in 10 U.S. adults now say that being a man is something that will help him, up from around 3 in 10 when the same question was asked in an AP-NORC poll during his 2016 campaign.
