On Election Day in November, women will determine control in Washington

Voters in Ohio headed to the polls this week in the first major primary of the 2022 election season and chose JD Vance. Ohioans who showed up on Tuesday likely knew what box they would be ticking on their ballot.

Like many Americans, the number of Ohio residents who consider themselves swing voters has been on a steady decline since 2016. In Ohio and other key states, a decreasing number of voters has a direct impact on the outcome of close elections. These races are decided by fractions of percentages that determine who sits in Congress and who is elected to the White House.

Since 2020, women over the age of 50 have increasingly tuned into politics, with the majority of us not interested in voting for generic red or blue politicians. We want candidates who are serious about solving the important issues.

JD VANCE’S VICTORY PROVES THE OLD GOP HAS BEEN TRANSFORMED

Right now, women across the country are weighing their options to determine who they’ll vote for on Election Day, and with midterms fast approaching, both parties should make it a priority to build a platform that makes a case to the most influential block of voters in the country – older women. This week’s leak by the Supreme Court about their possible decision to overturn Roe V. Wade could be a motivator for women of all ages and political stripes. The United States’ older electorate is crucial in recent major elections. In the past two election cycles, women over the age of 50 cast 30% of the vote across the country.

A woman with a voting badge. iStock

In 2020, we turned out to influence key races in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Wisconsin, battleground states that were decided by as few as 10,000 votes and cemented Democratic victories.

ELISE STEFANIK ENDORSES INDIANA VETERAN VYING TO MAKE HISTORY IN CONGRESS

This year, however, older voters used the ballot box in Virginia, a state that President Joe Biden carried by over ten points in 2020 to turn the tide for Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin gestures after signing a House bill in the conference room at the Capitol Wednesday March 2, 2022, in Richmond, Va.
((AP Photo/Steve Helber))

That goes to show that even though older women make up one of the most powerful coalitions of voters in the nation, most of us decide which party’s candidate to support on a race-by-race basis.

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New data demonstrates that only 17% of women over the age of 50 have decided who they’ll vote for in the upcoming midterm elections. Even the majority of us who already identify with a particular party don’t know who we’ll vote for – only 22% of women who identify as Republicans and 14% of Democrats already know who they’re voting for in November. Both parties have spent millions on polling and focus group to win over swing voters in battleground state. However, older women care more about common sense issues. We want candidates who can address everyday problems and basic kitchen issues.

Right now, costs are on the rise around the country, and folks are far more concerned about prices at the pump and putting food on the table than the flavor of the month issues put on party platforms by out-of-touch Washington insiders.

As the November midterms creep closer, both parties have tried to carve out paths towards control in Washington for 2022 and beyond, but so far, candidates from neither party have made a convincing case to women voters.

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If Republicans and Democrats are serious about gaining the support of the older electorate, they’ll need to make everyday issues the centerpiece of their platforms, and they’ll have to put up candidates who stand with us on issues like health care and social security. On Election Day, we will be the difference between races across the country. Now is the time to get our support.