Trump losing ground with women on economy, poll shows

Not only do women prefer Vice President Kamala Harris over former President Donald Trump by 15 percentage points, according to a new poll. They are starting to give Harris the edge on one of his strongest issues — the economy.

An American University poll, shared first with POLITICO, found that a majority of women trust Harris over Trump to address inflation and bring down the cost of living. Another 46 percent prefer Harris over Trump to handle the economy, while 38 percent prefer Trump on it. Nearly two-thirds of the women surveyed said inflation and the economy were the most important issue for them as they decided on their vote.

The economy remains a weak point for Democrats entering the final month of the campaign. One of Trump’s most enduring strengths is voters’ view of his leadership on the issue, which was even more pronounced when President Joe Biden led the Democratic ticket. But since Harris took over in July, the vice president has chipped away at Trump’s lead on the economy.

In the poll, which surveyed more than 800 registered female voters in September, women said they are feeling better about the economy overall. More than 60 percent of suburban women said they felt pessimistic about the economy when surveyed in 2023 and 2022, but that fell to 40 percent in the poll’s latest data. Still, nearly two-thirds of women said their personal financial situation had gotten worse in recent years.

Harris has “eliminated Trump’s advantage on inflation, narrowed it on the economy more generally and widened that gap with women,” said Lindsay Vermeyen, who conducted the survey. “It is really indicative of the fact that communications are breaking through, and her appeals to voters, or moderate voters, are starting to break through as well.”

The poll reflects the yawning gender gap in the campaign, with Trump performing far better among men. But it had good news overall for Democrats seeking to press their advantage with women. Harris has improved her favorability rating among women since she ascended to the top of the ticket, jumping by 12 points compared with 2023. Now, 55 percent of those surveyed view her positively, while 41 percent hold a negative opinion of her. Meanwhile, 57 percent of women view Trump unfavorably.

Abortion still ranks as a top issue for women, following the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022. Two-thirds of the women surveyed said abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Another 86 percent of women said the government should not be involved in a woman’s decision over whether to have an abortion. Just 14 percent of women said they believed abortion should be illegal.

Among Republican women, the poll found opposition to abortion rights had softened significantly just in the last year. Only 12 percent of them said abortion should be illegal in all circumstances — a group that’s cut in half since 2023, when 24 percent of Republican women said they didn’t support it in all circumstances. Women’s views on abortions generally work to Harris’ advantage, who holds a wide lead on which candidate can handle the issue, with 55 percent backing Harris on it.

Harris, for her part, hasn’t talked much about the history-making elements of her campaign. But nine in 10 Democratic women said they are motivated by it. And perhaps more importantly for Harris, 70 percent of independent women said they were excited to help elect the first woman president. Two-thirds of all the women surveyed said they believed the country was “more open” to electing a female president than in 2016.