WASHINGTON, DC – According to an election survey, unmarried women of New Hampshire were more likely to support Democrat Jeanne Shaheen over incumbent Republican John Sununu by 34 points. In the Presidential election, New Hampshire unmarried women were more likely to support Barack Obama by 38 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.

“The overwhelming support of unmarried women in New Hampshire provided Shaheen the support and numbers she needed for a victory over Sununu,” said Page Gardner, Founder and President of Women’s Voices. Women Vote.

Unmarried women backed Democrat Jeanne Shaheen by 64 percent to 30 percent over incumbent Republican John Sununu, and provided Barack Obama’s victory over John McCain (68 percent Obama, 30 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 unmarried women in New Hampshire, citing the federal budget deficit and national debt (22 percent), rising health care costs (20 percent), and the lack of family-supporting jobs (10 percent) as the issues that helped determine their vote.

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.