Media Tip Sheets

Not all women will vote for Kamala Harris, but a lot might.

Thursday, July 25, 2024, By Ellen Mbuqe
There has been a lot of speculation about whether Vice President and presumptive 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris can attract the women’s vote. But should we consider women as a monolithic voting bloc?
Political Science Professor Shana Gadarian researches political behavior and political psychology. She is also the author of he is the author of “Anxious Politics: Democratic Citizenship in a Threatening World” and “Pandemic Politics: The Deadly Toll of Partisanship in the Age of COVID.”
She said that partisanship is the strongest predictor of how people will vote.
  • “Just like with a Nikki Haley or Hillary Clinton at the top of the ticket, I don’t think that we are likely to see women voters cross over to vote for Kamala Harris because of her gender. Partisanship remains the strongest determinant of vote choice among those who have a partisan identity or lean toward a party,” said Gadarian. “That doesn’t mean that gender does not matter at all and that it won’t affect the Harris campaign. The first way that gender is already reshaping the race is that Harris is already advocating for women’s health, reproductive freedom and abortion access more vocally and more powerfully than Biden did and than the Trump/Vance ticket is. She ties access to reproductive care to a theme of progress and freedom in ways that Biden did not.”
  • “Harris is also energizing young women and women of color in ways that are going to make these important constituencies of the Democratic party easier to mobilize in the fall. Harris’s connection to Black Greek life has already won support and significant fundraising dollars from members of the Divine Nine who are a group that can be activated themselves and have strong community connections to help rally others. Last night, there was a Zoom meeting of 9,000 South Asian Women for Harris that raised $250,000,” said Gadarian.
  • “Harris is also leaning into young culture on social media with a neon green banner on her social media paying homage to the ‘brat summer’ and amassing significant views on TikTok with memes,” said Gadarian. “This embrace of feminine, fun ways to talk about serious policy issues makes space for young women to participate in politics and shows them that they have a stake in this election.
  • “The last way that gender matters here is that having a woman of color at the top of the ticket further normalizes that women belong in politics, can be trusted with the highest responsibility and are to be taken seriously,” said Gadarian.
Please contact executive director of media relations Ellen James Mbuqe, at ejmbuqe@syr.edu to arrange an interview.