For Immediate Release
Apr 23, 2008
For More Information
Ramona Oliver
roliver@emilyslist.org
EMILY's List Statement on Pennsylvania Primary
EMILY’s List WOMEN VOTE! Program Helps Drive Historic Level of Participation from PA Women
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ellen R. Malcolm, president of EMILY’s List, made the following statement on Hillary Clinton’s win in Pennsylvania.“Women voters are very worried about the economic future of their families and they are counting on Hillary to fight for them. The Clinton campaign counted on women voters and once again they came through, coming out in record numbers and giving her a fourteen point advantage in last night’s victory. EMILY’s List WOMEN VOTE! targeted many of the women that helped make Hillary Clinton a winner. Hillary is putting together the coalition that Democrats need to win in November. Her strength with non-college women, always a swing vote for Democrats, should give super delegates a real sense of confidence that Hillary would be the strongest nominee to face McCain in November.”
EMILY’s List WOMEN VOTE! Delivers in Pennsylvania
The EMILY’s List Pennsylvania WOMEN VOTE! program reached out to nearly 150,000 targeted women in southeast Pennsylvania with a new message: Hillary Clinton is ready to take the fight to John McCain.
The Target
We communicated with women in the key suburban and exurban battlegrounds of southeastern Pennsylvania via mail and phones. Our goal was to increase the percentage of women participating in the election and to help build Senator Clinton’s margin. Our polling showed that Senator Clinton led with women in all socio-economic brackets, so EMILY’s List WOMEN VOTE! targeted broadly, phoning and mailing women of all ages, both college and non-college educated.
The Results: Women turned out at historic levels making up 58 percent of the Democratic primary electorate. They provided Senator Clinton with a decisive victory, with women favoring Senator Clinton by 14 points.
The Messengers
The series of mailings and phone calls shared important information on Senator Hillary Clinton and her strength and experience as a leader. The pieces also utilized a critical peer-to-peer style of communication featuring the pictures and voices of Pennsylvania women and messages inspired by their real-life perspective on the issues.
The Message
Now that the presumptive Republican nominee is established, primary voters in Pennsylvania were very receptive to arguments that Clinton will hold Senator John McCain accountable for his support of the policies of the Bush administration—on issues such as tax cuts for the rich and the war in Iraq. They responded strongly to the argument that because she understands the problems facing the middle class and the pain the economic squeeze is causing American families, she will take the fight to McCain and make it clear that four more years of George Bush policies will not be acceptable. The WOMEN VOTE! mail underscored that Senator Clinton was ready to clean up George Bush’s economic mess.
The Numbers
EMILY’s List WOMEN VOTE! sent four pieces of mail and made five rounds of phone calls to nearly 150,000 women. We believe this level of consistent repeated contact helped to secure Senator Clinton’s base and created the edge she needed in a critically important media market in a state where she was being outspent three to one by Senator Obama.
Looking Ahead
Pennsylvania exit polls make it clear that the WOMEN VOTE! message on behalf of Senator Clinton was effective and powerful. Among the 55 percent of voters who say the economy was their principal concern, Clinton won by a 16 point margin – 58 percent to 42 percent. Continuing anxiety about the economy has voters looking for a Democratic nominee with the strength and experience to turn things around. As in Texas and Ohio, the momentum in this contest was clearly on Senator Clinton’s side – among those who made up their mind on election day she garnered 59 percent; among those who made up their mind in the last three days she received 58 percent.
Complete information on the Pennsylvania WOMEN VOTE! program and polling done prior to the primary with women voters is available here.
