Unmarried Women Cast Deciding Votes in Virginia Election

Democracy Corps and the Women’s Voices Women Vote Action Fund today released a new report on the role of unmarried women in the Virginia governor’s race. The report found that:

– Unmarried women made the difference in this election. Unmarried women voted for Terry McAuliffe by a decisive 42-point margin (67 to 25 percent). Married women, by contrast, voted for Ken Cuccinelli by 9 points.

– Marital status was clearly determinative in this election. If unmarried women had voted as married women, Ken Cuccinelli would have won the election by 7 points.

– While unmarried women supported McAuliffe at similar rates as they supported Obama in 2012, their share of the vote declined from 22 percent in the presidential election year to 18 percent in 2013 (and from 19 percent in 2009). Campaigns have to work to get these voters to the polls – and give unmarried women a reason to turn out in 2014 by speaking to the issues that matter most to them.

For the full report and accompanying slides, please click here:
Memo (PDF)
Slides (PDF)