FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6

Unmarried Women Prove Decisive Political Force in Minnesota U.S. Senatorial Race

Record Marriage Gap Across the Country and in Minnesota – Unmarried Women Key Pillar of Support for Franken

WASHINGTON, DC – According to an election survey, unmarried women of Minnesota were more likely to support Democrat Al Franken over incumbent Republican Norm Coleman by 38 point margin. In the Presidential election, Minnesota unmarried women were more likely to support Barack Obama by 47 points.

The Lake Research Partners election survey, commissioned by Women’s Voices. Women Vote, was conducted in Georgia, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Minnesota. The survey found unmarried women offered critical support for progressive candidates in all of the states.

“Unmarried women in Minnesota were the critical difference in the Senate race that is still too close to call,” said Page Gardner, Founder and President of Women’s Voices. Women Vote.

Unmarried women backed Democrat Al Franken by 62 percent to 24 percent over incumbent Republican Norm Coleman, and provided Barack Obama an overwhelming 47 point margin over John McCain (72 percent Obama, 25 percent McCain).

Nationally, unmarried women anchored Obama’s victory over McCain last night, splitting 70 to 29 for the Democratic ticket. Obama’s margin among unmarried women exceeded his margin among both young voters and Latino voters. Meanwhile, married women actually preferred McCain, 47 to 50 – an overwhelming 44 percent marriage gap. All numbers come from calculations based on the CNN National Election Pool conducted by Edison/Mitofsky.

“Throughout this election season, we’ve seen unmarried women paying attention to the candidates, and last night we saw them turn out to make their voices heard,” said Gardner. “Unmarried women are the fastest-growing large demographic in the country, and during this election, we’ve seen them register and vote in record numbers,” said Gardner.

The economy was the driving issue agenda impacting the vote of women in Minnesota. Rising health care costs were the most important economic issue determining their votes (24 percent), followed by the federal budget deficit and national debt (15 percent), higher taxes (14 percent), a secure retirement (9 percent), lack of jobs that pay a family-supporting wage (9 percent), daily expenses like food or child care (5 percent), the possibility of losing one’s job (5 percent), and the rising cost of gasoline and fuel (4 percent).

Since 2004, Women’s Voices. Women Vote has generated more than 34,000 registration applications in Minnesota, of which, more than 24,300 were from this cycle alone. Women's Voices. Women Vote is a non-profit, non-partisan organization created to activate unmarried women to participate in their government and in our democracy.