Obama looks to boost women’s vote

President Obama called for improving the economic conditions of women in his latest weekly address, advocating for a key voting bloc just days ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections.

“Right now, women make up almost half of our workers. More women are their family’s main breadwinner than ever before,” Obama said on Saturday. “So the simple truth is, when women succeed, America succeeds. And we should be choosing policies that benefit women – because that benefits all of us.”

{mosads}Those comments largely echoed a speech the president made Friday in Rhode Island, where he also tried to gin up excitement among a Democratic base that is historically less likely to vote during midterm elections than Republicans.

In his address, Obama pointed out in the address that the economy – which grew at a 3.5 percent clip during the last quarter – continues to pick up steam. 

But the president also acknowledged that those gains weren’t being felt evenly around the country. That’s turned out to be a key problem for Democrats, who are projected to lose control of the Senate next week, as streams of voters say they feel left behind by the current recovery.

“The gains of a growing economy aren’t yet felt by everyone,” Obama said. “So we’ve got to harness this momentum, and make the right choices so that everyone who works hard can get ahead.”

With that in mind, he called for a host of policy proposals that have been blocked by Republicans, including raising the minimum wage, ensuring paycheck equity for women, implementing paid family leave and strengthening preschool around the country.

“All of these policies are common sense. All of them are within our reach.  We’ve just got to speak up and choose them,” the president added.

Female voters have long been key to Democratic success, usually far more likely to back the party’s candidates than men. 

During the 2010 midterms, when Republicans swept to control in the House, women essentially split their vote between the GOP and Democrats. But female voters then gave Obama a big edge two years later, helping spur him to a second term.

Still, it’s also an open question whether Democrats’ focus on women’s health issues will be as successful this time around, especially given that GOP candidates haven’t made the same sort of controversial statements they did two years ago.