From the LIBERAL Austin paper "The Statesman" 2010: Perry's lead among women bucks trendThe voter gender gap usually goes like this: Across the country, men prefer Republicans, while women prefer Democrats.
But this year in Texas, there's something unusual going on. Republican Gov. Rick Perry has a significant lead over Democrat Bill White among women.
"Perry is doing extraordinarily well among women," said Mickey Blum, whose firm, Blum & Weprin Associates Inc., conducted a poll on behalf of the American-Statesman and other newspapers. She said that in years of polling in Texas, this might be the first time she's seen more women than men backing the Republican.
The poll found that 50 percent of women who are likely voters prefer Perry, while 40 percent prefer White. Overall, 46 percent of likely voters picked Perry and 39 percent liked White, the poll said.
Democrats have enjoyed the support of a majority of women for about 30 years, said Sean Theriault, an associate professor in the government department at the University of Texas. Theriault said he's surprised by the poll results, given Perry's lack of desire to participate in a debate this fall and the way he attacked his female opponent, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, in the Republican primary.
..."We think of women as being more grounded and fair-minded," Theriault said. "You'd think all those stories would make women even less drawn to him. I'm stunned."......
The Texas poll didn't focus on why the women prefer Perry, and interviews with poll respondents showed that reasons varied widely, ranging from religious views to the economy.
Among Perry's female supporters is Monica Otis, 52, a real estate agent in Farmers Branch, who said she thinks of him as a conservative, straightforward, hardworking person.
"Bottom line, I think he's a better candidate," Otis said. "I'm more in line with his expressed beliefs," such as curbing state spending."...