What women want: Poll finds Harris nomination gives Dems boost with unmarried women

CHICAGO (CBS 58) -- The United Center and much of downtown Chicago had a different energy Thursday. One woman at the Crowne Plaza hotel whisked into an elevator, noting she flew in from New York on a whim. She had to be here when Vice President Kamala Harris became the first woman of color to accept the presidential nomination of a major U.S. political party.

Inside the arena, many of the women attending the final night of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) wore white, a nod to the sufferage movement.

Page Gardner, a Democratic strategist based in Washington, D.C., said new data illustrated how Harris' nomination had rallied one group, in particular: Unmarried women under the age of 55.

Last week, Gardner released a poll she commissioned with a Democratic firm. She surveyed 800 registered voters in nine states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

56% of the respondents said they planned to vote for Harris while 27% said they supported former President Donald Trump.

"Unmarried women are very- they're part of the Democratic base," Gardner said. "The key thing is, particularly in this race, to get them to perform at the same levels that they did as other candidates."

Among those respondents, Gardner said Democrats should be especially encouraged by the results from White unmarried women.

45% said they identify as Democrats while 42% describe themselves as Republicans. However, 46% of those women said they planned to vote for Harris compared to 36% who said they're backing Mr. Trump.

Earlier in the week, Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson was asked how the GOP can win over more women. Johnson said he believed Republicans' policy stances, particularly on immigration, were convincing.

"Let's talk about, really, what women want in terms of elected officials. They want somebody who provides security, so they feel safer," Johnson said. "Does an open border provide security when you see all these migrant crimes, these rapes, these murders?"

On the convention floor Thursday, Ann Jacobs, chair of the Wisconsin Elections Commission and one of the state's Democratic delegates, bristled at Johnson's remarks.

"The border is not what comes up. You know what kind of security comes up? Bodily security, the right to control if, when and how you have children," Jacobs said. "The right to reproductive health care. That's what women are talking about."

Gardner said abortion rights and the economy were two of the top issues motivating unmarried women. She added personality and temperament were also important characteristics.

"Yes, they want security, but it's economic security," Gardner said. "And they don't like chaos and they don't like the Trump anger. I mean, the anger is just off-putting."

Gardner said many of the women were also energized by Harris replacing President Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket. At the same time, the poll indicated Democrats still had more work to do.

"He was underperforming with unmarried women, and now that it's Vice President Harris, their support for the Democratic ticket has gone up, and their enthusiams has gone up," she said. "But there's still a gap in terms of what it is now and what it should be."

For some of Wisconsin's top Democrats, the question of whether President Biden could've won Wisconsin had he remained the nominee was one they'd rather not answer.

"That's conjecture, and it really is not relevant today," Sen. Tammy Baldwin said. "We have a new nominee, and we are set to go to work for the next 70-plus days."

In an interview on the convention floor Thursday, Baldwin said emphasized she wanted the party's message to be forward-looking.

"It's a new beginning," she said. "It's a new beginning for our party, but it's a new beginning for our country."