National polls in recent weeks have shown that Hillary appears to be leading Trump by a significant margin. Clinton appears to be holding somewhere between a 5 and 11 percent lead. This lead may be attributed to the bad publicity Trump has been receiving recently regarding offensive comments he has made about women in the past.
Although Clinton is ahead in national polls which include men and women, she shows an outstanding lead in the polls where only women are surveyed. Hillary has achieved a lead of 33 percentage points over Trump among women. However, this extreme gender split goes both ways as Trump has secured a 11 percent lead over Hillary in polls surveying only men. A serious gender gap is forming between these two candidates.
If only women were voting, Hillary is projected to win as many as 458 of the 538 electoral votes. On the contrary, if only men were voting, Trump is projected to win as many as 350 electoral votes. There are obviously serious disagreements among the genders on the topic of who should be our next President. The fate of this election may very well rest on the candidate's ability to sway members of the opposite gender to vote in their favor.
Questions to consider:
1. Does the gap in candidate preference between the two genders in contribute to, limit, of have no effect on democracy?
2. Is it still possible for Trump to win the election?
3. What strategies could be used to help candidates gain support from members of the opposite gender?
In general, I think it is difficult for people to identify with the candidate of the opposite gender in this particular election because their views are so polarized. Trump has exhibited a lack of respect for women, while Clinton has been an advocate for women's rights for much of her political career. Although it seems quite unlikely at this point for Trump to end up victorious, nothing is for sure in this election. A year ago, people were saying that he had no change to win in the primaries.
ReplyDeleteLooking back, I feel like the vote definitely came down to people's perception of gender equality. Based on the stat that if only men voted Trump would win and if only women then Clinton win, it is abundantly clear that Clinton's gender was one of the main reasons for her eventual defeat.
DeleteIt's interesting to see how candidates capitalize off of their opponents public scandals in order to steer attention away from the real issues. For example, during the debate last weekend, Trump attempted to draw attention to Bill Clinton's past cheating scandals to undermine Hillary and her family's reputation. What's even more shocking is the effectiveness of these strategies, as the media feeds off of stories such as these. These moves were made by Trump in order to compensate for his sexist behaviors. Trump's derogatory treatment of women in the past has put a toll on his current status in the polls, so it's not a surprise that most females would be in favor of a female candidate.
ReplyDeleteAnything is possibly when it comes to an election, however; I believe that it is very unlikely that he will win. With all of the negative press in the media pertaining Trump's current and past interactions with women, and Hilary's constant advocacy for women's wights, it is not surprising that women are primarily voting in favor of Hilary. Furthermore, I think this gender gap adds to the bipartisan aspect of government, polarizing it even more.
ReplyDeleteAt this point, I don't think it is possible for Trump to win anymore. His condescending comments towards women and racist remarks towards minority groups are a major factor too his downfall. Further, he cannot even get his own party to get behind him. For example, John Mcain, a prominent Republican leader just "unendorsed" him last week. Mitt Romney also does not support him either. Many other Republicans probably feel the same way and only support him to not stand out and be targeted by Trump. Strategies that could be used by both parties to get votes from the opposite gender: advocate for their rights, don't speak badly of them, make promises that sound good but you know you won't keep. The gender gap limits Democracy because it causes inequality and tension in a variety of areas.
ReplyDeleteI don't really think that the gender gap contributes to or takes away from democracy, by itself. Rather, I think that the gender gap is a reflection that there is something errant in our democracy, as it stands. In the textbook, it mentioned that the gender gap and other gaps between minority and majority exists because those who are oppressed generally support the Democratic party (women historically, and minorities). The fact that there is such a huge divide between the genders suggests that many women do not believe they have attained true equality yet; on the contrary, it reflects perhaps male retaliation/hostility towards feminism. The gender gap I believe is a reflection, not a cause.
ReplyDeleteI'd have to agree with B. Chen on the above point. The media coverage, what Trump has been caught saying on TV, seems like it is insurmountable.
It is still possible for Trump to win this election, however very unlikely. Since there tends to be a negative stigma associated with Trump, it would be logical to claim that many Americans are "closet Trump supporters"; Trump has claimed this is what will win him the election. However, this seems to be the only remaining hope for Trump as he is loosing by a significant margin. If Trump wants to win over women, he must come out apologizing and must somehow reveal his own October surpise, if not, he will loose badly to Hillary.
ReplyDeleteI would like to say that I honestly do not even think it is still possible for him to win anymore. Firstly, Hillary is going to win Florida which puts her at a huge advantage and the small chance that it will happen, if he loses Ohio it is all over. Additionally, even if he tried to apologize it wouldn't win over women who are smart enough to know he is a terrible human being with no respect for women whatsoever. Trump has no chance because he has no manners, respect empathy, or valid experience.
DeleteI agree with your comment David because often times when people hold unpopular views, they are attacked for it. It seems that in today's society, people have become ignorant to opposing views in a self-righteous way. As such it mnakes sense that there many in fact be many "closet Trump supporters" who just don't have the courage to publicly voice their opinions.
DeleteI believe it still is possible for Trump to win the election considering that a lot of the results are pre determined by the upper class of America beyond the average knowledge. The Rotschilds and Rockefeller family truly run the nation we all thrive in and regardless of out views and beliefs they have final say in policy and decision making in this nation and especially in the election.
ReplyDeleteIt was still possible for Trump to win the election. There were a lot of Trump voters who did not reveal they were in the polls because they were self-conscious and afraid of criticism. Trump made a late surge and was aided by the media bashing of Hillary in the October surprises. People thought this would be the deciding October surprise but Trump did a decent job of apologizing and taking the attention off of this scandal and putting it on Clinton's past.
ReplyDeleteIt was still very possible for Trump to win the election at the time because of the amount of voters who had not revealed their political ideology. In addition, the incident with James Comey and the wiki leaks in the last few weeks really hurt Hillary chances and I believe were one of the main factors into her defeat.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the gender gap that was revealed in this election actually greatly contributes to the American democracy. Although Clinton did not win, an overwhelming majority of women voted for her, and it would be ridiculous for the Trump administration to brush aside the views of so many of his opposition. After all, as the President-elect, Trump should be working to unite the American voters -- both the people who voted for him AND the people who voted against him.
ReplyDeleteNow seeing the results and preparing for the aftermath of this election, I think it is important to look back and see how we got to this point. The gender gap was a huge part of this election. Many people were very opposed to even the idea of having a woman as their president, giving even more support for Donald Trump to win the election. Unfortunately, I believe that if the Democratic nominee was a man and had all the same background and experiences as Hillary, he would have done much better in the election, especially up against Trump, who had much opposition from many Republicans. I'm saddened to say that I overestimated Americans' ability to come this far against sexism, but we still have much more progress to make in the future.
ReplyDeleteIt is surprising how little the public was surprised by this election considering our nation's history. The gender gap has always been present in politics. At the end of the day the county will side with what it knows: men in power. The collective fear as a nation to make significant change will take priority over what might be best for the nation.
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