When Illinois women vote, Democrats win
Monday, Mar 18, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Significant…
A new analysis by the Center for Illinois Politics of state election data finds 54 percent of voters who turned out across the state in 2018 were women, up from 52 percent in 2014 and 2016, a difference of about 100,000 women.
That two-point increase is a four percent jump.
* And that turnout increase helped change results all over the place…
In the 2018 midterms, the percentage of Cook County voters who voted Democratic was 75 percent, and its percentage of registered females voting was 55 percent. In traditionally Republican DuPage County, 51 percent voted Democratic, and 53 percent of females voted.
Lake County saw 54 percent of residents vote Democratic, and 53 percent of registered women vote. Downstate, Sangamon County saw 48 percent of voters vote Democrat, and 53 percent of women vote. In St. Clair County, 57 percent voted Democratic, and 54 percent of women turned out.
Looking at DuPage County, that 51 percent of voters casting ballots for Democrats skyrocketed, up from just 11.5 percent in 1990.
In the 14th Congressional District, Democrat Lauren Underwood of Naperville has been touted as the embodiment of Illinois’ “Year of the Woman” after defeating incumbent Randy Hultgren of Plano. The 14th’s female share of the vote was 52 percent.
In the 6th Congressional District, represented by a Republican since 1975, Republican incumbent Peter Roskam of Wheaton lost in a contentious, high-profile race to Democrat Sean Casten of Downers Grove. There, 52 percent of voters in the contest were female. […]
In the 21st state Senate District, incumbent GOP Sen. Michael Connelly conceded to Democrat Lauren Ellman of Naperville. The Senate Democratic Victory Fund invested more than $1 million in the effort to defeat Connelly, who served in the House since 2009 and Senate since 2013. There, 55 percent of the voters who turned out were female.
African-American women and independent-minded suburban women are the two most influential voting blocs in this state. Democrats generally don’t win without their strong support. Republicans generally win when those votes are down.
…Adding… A handy map…
- Rich Miller - Monday, Mar 18, 19 @ 10:39 am:
There was a typo in the original. I meant to write independent-minded suburban women and somehow wrote suburban Republican women. Oops.
- Anon - Monday, Mar 18, 19 @ 10:59 am:
Rich gets the headline right, but I’m not sure about the author of the CIP article. Was this election really about “women for women” or women for Democrats or women against Trump.
A strong Dem candidate could have beaten Hultgren or Roskam or Connelly, regardless of gender.
I think it does a disservice to anyone to say that they vote their own, whether it be gender, or race or religion or ethnicity. To say that women for vote women may be true in some cases, but it could be downright offensive in others.
- don the legend - Monday, Mar 18, 19 @ 11:11 am:
Well this bodes well for Proft, Ives and the Trumpsters. /s
- Anon - Monday, Mar 18, 19 @ 11:14 am:
Has Schulyer revoked the 19th Amendment?
- wordslinger - Monday, Mar 18, 19 @ 11:15 am:
–Looking at DuPage County, that 51 percent of voters casting ballots for Democrats skyrocketed, up from just 11.5 percent in 1990.–
I’m sure the Uiehlein/Proft plan to insist on party purity will pay off and fix that trend anytime now.
- Just another Anon - Monday, Mar 18, 19 @ 11:46 am:
Why use 1990 as the baseline? Seems odd, since more recent numbers are much more in line with the 2018 turnouts.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Mar 18, 19 @ 12:02 pm:
===Why use 1990 as the baseline?===
Because it started dropping after that, except for occasionally, like 1994.
- Left Leaner - Monday, Mar 18, 19 @ 12:14 pm:
Is the party of old white men paying attention to this? Probably.
Doing anything about it? Nope.
One more cobblestone on the path to irrelevancy.
- AlfondoGonz - Monday, Mar 18, 19 @ 12:15 pm:
The GOP tent continues to shrivel, much like those under it.
- DeseDemDose - Monday, Mar 18, 19 @ 12:26 pm:
Maybe Adam Kinzinger can lead Illinois Republicans back to their glory days.
- Cheryl44 - Monday, Mar 18, 19 @ 12:49 pm:
I hate pink.
- anon - Monday, Mar 18, 19 @ 12:53 pm:
“54 percent of voters who turned out across the state in 2018 were women.” Clearly society has a bias that implicitly disenfranchises men.
- indianbadger1 - Monday, Mar 18, 19 @ 1:24 pm:
“Umm so this should read, Women of Color. White women still vote Republican. Turnout among Women of Color is what changed things in the suburbs. This myth of the white college-educated females handing elections over to the democrats needs to stop.”
I wholeheartedly agree. When 54 percent of white women, including about 45 percent of college educated women voted R in the 2016 election; this became crystal clear. The pandering to the “suburban soccer moms” and “white working class men” needs to go away. This is a lost cause.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Mar 18, 19 @ 1:50 pm:
===When 54 percent of white women, including about 45 percent of college educated women voted R in the 2016 election; this became crystal clear. The pandering to the “suburban soccer moms” and “white working class men” needs to go away. This is a lost cause. ===
It was 50 percent for Trump among white women here. https://www.cnn.com/election/2016/results/exit-polls/illinois/president
And you don’t have to win the demographic to win the election. You just have to do better than before with 33 percent of the 2016 electorate. That’s why they’re so pivotal. If you don’t care about keeping or building on the 46 percent who voted for Clinton, you lose.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Mar 18, 19 @ 1:54 pm:
And if you just want to concentrate on people of color, that’s fine, but they were just 32 percent of the Illinois electorate in 2016.
This is a game of addition.
- Denisquared - Monday, Mar 18, 19 @ 4:03 pm:
I know you can play games with statistics all day to look at things in a different light. How about this? Whatever color pander to women. They make the difference when we stop eating our own.
- wordslinger - Monday, Mar 18, 19 @ 10:22 pm:
–The pandering to the “suburban soccer moms” and “white working class men” needs to go away. This is a lost cause.–
And how does that “pandering” manifest itself, one who adopts the Confederacy’s “Lost Cause” mantra.
(In case you’re super-thick, I’m questioning the sincerity of your concern trolling).
Meanwhile, Reps. Underwood and Casten are doing crazy things like showing up at public libraries around their districts and talking to people.
https://www.nwherald.com/2019/03/15/u-s-reps-underwood-casten-talk-climate-change-health-care-at-crystal-lake-forum/avvphp9/
- toolkiks - Tuesday, Mar 19, 19 @ 8:13 am:
That’s right, keep up with the Democrat votes, we need more of them, there’s still some life in this state, have to finish killing it off.