Mitt needs to chip at Obama’s widening lead among women. The debates are his first chance to speak directly to them.
Mitt Romney may not have been on a modern date in 40 years, but new Quinnipiac stats today suggest if he wants to gain any momentum from the debates (already an unlikely prospect), Mitt’s gots-to impress da ladies. Yo.
That’s because Obama has amassed a whopping 18-point lead among female voters.
In Quinnipiac’s latest survey, Obama beats Romney 49 percent to 45 percent among likely voters. That lead is built upon the 56 percent to 38 percent advantage that Obama has built among women. Romney has a 10-point lead among men, leading Obama 52 percent to 42 percent.
“It is also very difficult to win an election when you are getting shellacked among women, the group that makes up about half the electorate,” said Quinnipiac’s assistant director Peter Brown in a release.
Break out the champagne and dim the lights! Big Mitt’s about to bust a move.
It’s hard to imagine what Romney might say to win women back to his side after the birth control incident and the policy shrillness from his party (think Lilly Ledbetter). If Mitt’s advisors think he can “zing” his way out of an 18-point lead, my guess is they’re mistaken.
My prediction is that Mitt will be seriously tempted to tout Massachusetts Healthcare as a policy that directly helped women. Less ambitious is the standard “economy sucks for women” line. Unless Mitt Romney turns into Ryan Gosling and/or announces plans for an upcoming sex change operation, I’m not seeing an easy way out of an 18-point hole.
