small percentage difference between the candidates for male voters, but there was a 13 percent difference in women voters favoring Obama over McCain.


According to polls last month, a similar pattern was emerging for the 2012 race between Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney. A study by Quinnipiac University indicated an 18-percentage point lead for Obama over Romney with women, and a 10 percentage point Romney lead for men.

While the majority of gender polls occurred prior to the first presidential debate held at the University of Denver, a few polls following the debate in important states have indicated that the voting trends are shifting. According to Public Policy Polling, in Wisconsin, Obama leads by 2 points with 52 percent of women favoring Obama, versus 50 percent of men favoring Romney;poll conducted by CNN of 430 voters immediately following the debate asked male and female voters who would better handle certain major issues. In this particular poll, women felt that Obama and Romney would handle the economy, taxes and federal budget deficit equally well. Women gave a slight edge to Obama over Romney on health care and the size and role of the federal government. Men, on the other hand, felt Romney would handle all issues better than Obama.

In other polls conducted shortly after the debate, discussion topics included that Romney improved his personal appeal and his standing as a leader. However, many women also mentioned that there was an absence of discussion of other major issues, such as education, that are important to them.

Overall, the majority of