Girl power

Wed, February 06, 2008 - 5:05 PM

Running for president? Win votes of Democratic women and you're likely to win the state.

EMILY’s List, which provides campaign money and support for Democratic candidates who support abortion rights, has crunched some numbers about women voters and Democratic presidential candidates.

According to exit polls taken on Super Tuesday, women made up the majority of voters in every state that held a primary.

And when a majority of women backed a presidential contender, that candidate took the state nearly every time. The exception is Connecticut. Fifty-three percent of women in Connecticut voted for Hillary Clinton, but Barack Obama’s stronger support among men – 59 percent of men voted for Obama – propelled him to victory.

Men as a rule supported Obama, although not in Arkansas, New York, Oklahoma and Tennessee. Clinton won those states and can claim two of them as home turf. She was first lady of Arkansas and is a senator from New York.

Women – and voters overall -- in the South split between the two candidates. Obama won the support of Alabama and Georgia, while Clinton took Arkansas and Tennessee.

-- Amy Dominello