Elections

NARAL Pro-Choice America Releases Key Findings from Battleground Poll

Washington, D.C. – NARAL Pro-Choice America today released key findings from a survey that shows how choice provides an opening for President Obama and other Democrats to win a key segment of women voters who are currently not inclined to vote for them in 2012.

“There is a group of women who voted for President Obama in 2008 but are not currently supporting him, and these data suggests many of them should be in his camp,” wrote Al Quinlan, president of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, in a memo the organization released on Wednesday. “Choice provides an opening for President Obama and other Democrats to create a sharp contrast with anti-choice Republicans.”

The “women defectors” are defined as having voted for President Obama in 2008 but are currently not voting for him, weakly supporting him, or  holding back from turning out in 2012. Greenberg Quinlan Rosner conducted a survey among 600 women defectors from September 6 to 18 in CO, FL, IA, MI, MN, MO, NC, NH, NM, NV, OH, PA, VA, and WI. The sample size is proportional to the expected composition of the 2012 electorate within those 14 states.

“While the economy is the dominant issue, this survey shows that choice is a stronger, more persuasive issue for bringing key women voters back to President Obama’s camp,” said Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. “As the political leader of the pro-choice movement, NARAL Pro-Choice America will work to reach this segment of women voters in swing states to ensure that we re-elect a pro-choice president.”

Specifically, the survey shows choice can help President Obama win an even greater percentage of the pro-choice true defector women voters who are not currently voting for him.

• Among the pro-choice defectors (those not voting for the president) that heard only short, balanced economic messages from President Obama and a challenger, President Obama goes from winning zero percent of their vote to winning 36 percent of them. Among the pro-choice defectors who are not supporting his reelection who heard short balanced economic and abortion positioning from each candidate, Obama does even better, winning 43 percent of their vote. 
• Introducing an anti-choice critique of the Republican candidate earns Obama another 10 percent of the true pro-choice women defectors’ vote. Among the pro-choice true defectors who heard the choice message at all stages, Obama goes from winning none of them to winning 53 percent of them. 

See a complete summary of the survey’s key findings.

Paid for by NARAL Pro-Choice America, www.prochoiceamerica.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. 

Contact:
Samantha Gordon, 202.973.3032