2025 national survey of women over 50 finds Lady Boomers may be the proverbial wrinkle in the political ointment
A recent national survey of women over the age of fifty * finds that older women may be the proverbial wrinkle in the political ointment in the quest to elect a female president. The survey found that 38% percent of the 720 women surveyed are either opposed or ambivalent about the prospect of a woman being elected president of the United States. That is more than one-third of this voting segment who are effectively lost to a woman presidential candidate. The Kitchens Research Group and Vantage Data House survey asked, “How beneficial do you think it would be for the country if a woman was elected President of the United States?” While 62% respond positively, the results are skewed by party registration, education levels, and core belief systems. (Figure 1.)
Eighty-one percent (81%) of Democratic women are enthusiastic about the prospect of a woman in national office compared with only 34% of Republican women. Likewise, women with higher education levels and those whose views lean toward the moderate-progressive end of the political spectrum respond more positively, versus those women who have less education and hold more traditional social and political views. “These results indicate a woman candidate, such as Nikki Haley, would have trouble getting through a Republican primary,” noted Vantage Data House pollster, Liz Kitchens, referring to the former South Carolina governor and potential presidential candidate.
“Pollsters and political pundits like me burned countless calories speculating about the potential impact of a gender gap in a contest between a 78-year-old white man and a 60-year-old woman of black, South Asian heritage. And the results indicate there was a gender disparity, however gender loyalty was stronger among men than women. And the gender factor was not enough of a draw for this female age cohort,“ Kitchens argues.
Women’s political groups and the Harris campaign focused much of their campaign communication in the 2024 election on reproductive rights and other women’s issues, and overlooked other cross pressures women were facing, namely the economy. According to the Vantage Data House national survey, 62% of women ages 50 and older have a household income of less than $100,000. One-third of Lady Boomers in the U.S. are either just meeting their basic living expenses or are forced to live with other family members to make ends meet. Among women whose household income is $50,000 or less, 49% say they are just able to meet basic needs and an additional 18% say they are forced to live with other family members. (Figure 2.)
Kitchens, who specializes in research related to aging issues and the author of Be Brave. Lose the Beige: Finding Your Sass After Sixty, said she wanted to delve beyond the standard partisan survey questions to better understand the values and core belief systems of women in this age category. The survey asked respondents to categorize their belief systems as follows: (Figure 3.)
Almost half the sample (46%), describe themselves as at least somewhat traditional in their attitudes toward social issues. This response is higher among women with less education, less income, and Republicans–the same demographics as those who are less enthusiastic about the election of a female president.
Twenty-three percent identify their belief system as moderate and 31% as liberal. When these two categories are combined, 54% identify themselves as holding more progressive attitudes toward social issues. This response is higher among women with upper income and education levels, and Democrats–the same demographics as those who respond positively to the prospect of a female president.
The survey outcomes suggest that a woman running for national office will have to broaden her appeal to older women by (1) demonstrating an understanding of and the ability to address the financial insecurities faced by women of this generation, and (2) validating the core traditional values held by well over a quarter of this voting contingent in order to capitalize on any kind of gender gap.
Seven hundred and twenty women over the age of 50 were interviewed in a demographically representative sample by Vantage Data House, a bi-partisan public opinion research firm. The margin of error for this survey is 3.7%
Liz Kitchens is a thirty-five-year market researcher with a specialty in focus group and survey research. Ms. Kitchens is a partner in The Kitchens Group, one of the longest operating public opinion research firms in the country. Liz specializes in research related to aging issues in women over the age of fifty. She is the author of Be Brave. Lose the Beige: Finding Your Sass After Sixty which won the 2024 National Indie Excellence Award for aging. She is the founder of the blogsite, Be Brave. Lose the Beige!, which focuses on women and aging issues. Liz conducts workshops and seminars on creativity and its impact on healthy aging.
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