Executive Summary

Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research completed work on a survey for the Women’s Voices. Women Vote Action Fund tracking presidential preferences among women voters.

Key Findings

• Unmarrieds are anchoring this race for Obama. This survey comes at a time when the financial crisis fueled gains for Obama among men, blue collar voters and older voters, as well as married women. However, looking specifically at the women’s vote, Obama’s support is anchored by unmarried women. In fact, Obama leads 62 - 33 percent among unmarried women in the country. Married women divide evenly (47 percent Obama, 48 percent McCain).
• Unmarrieds are interested and following closely what is happening in the race. While unmarried women historically have not turned out to vote in the same numbers as married voters, this survey shows these voters just as engaged and interested as married women.  Overall, 88 percent of women in the battleground describe themselves as very interested in the election (describe their interest as a 9 or a 10 on a ten point scale). There is no difference between married and unmarried women on this measure.

Methodology

This survey was conducted by Democratic polling firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, on behalf of the Women’s Voices. Women Vote Action Fund. It surveyed 1,045 respondents between September 29-30, 2008 in the battleground states of Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The survey carries a margin of error of +/- 3.0 at a 95 percent confidence level.