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Poll: 40% of Democrats don’t think they will see woman president

By Associated Press
Published: January 12, 2025, 12:35pm
2 Photos
Supporters look on as Vice President Kamala Harris delivers a concession speech for the 2024 presidential election Nov. 6 on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C.
Supporters look on as Vice President Kamala Harris delivers a concession speech for the 2024 presidential election Nov. 6 on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. (Susan Walsh/Associated Press files) Photo Gallery

NEW YORK — Democrats are harboring strong feelings of stress and gloom as the new year begins. And many are questioning whether their party’s commitment to diverse candidates — especially women — may lead to further political struggles in the Donald Trump era.

A recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that a significant number of Democrats believe that it may be decades before the United States will get its first female president.

Specifically, about 4 in 10 Democrats said it’s “not very likely” or “not at all likely” that a woman will be elected to the nation’s highest office in their lifetime, according to a December AP-NORC poll. That’s compared with about one-quarter of Republicans who feel the same.

While despondency is hardly unique for a political party after a high-profile loss, that finding reflects the deep depression that has set in among Democrats about the country and their party after Trump soundly defeated Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee.

Such concerns may already be shaping the Democratic National Committee’s search for a new leader. For the first time in more than a decade, the top candidates for the job are all white men.

And looking further ahead, the party’s pessimism is influencing early conversations about the contest for the 2028 presidential nomination.

“We knew men hated women. The last election showed, for some of us, that we underestimated the extent to which some women hate other women,” said Gilda Cobb-Hunter, a Democratic state representative from South Carolina and former president of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators. “America is as racist and misogynist as it has always been.”

Democrats have nominated a woman to run against Trump in two of the past three presidential elections. In both cases, Trump won decisively: over Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Harris in 2024.

Adding insult to injury for many Democrats was the long list of allegations brought by women against Trump. He was found liable in civil court for sexual abuse and convicted in a hush money case involving an adult film star. He was caught on tape bragging that he could grab women’s genitals without consent because he was a celebrity.

Still, Trump narrowly carried every key swing state in November. Harris had the advantage among women, winning 53 percent to Trump’s 46 percent, but that margin was somewhat narrower than Joe Biden’s in 2020. Trump’s support held steady among white women, with slightly more than half supporting him, similar to 2020.

About 7 in 10 Democrats believe 2025 will be a worse year for the U.S. than 2024, the AP-NORC poll found. That’s compared with about 4 in 10 U.S. adults who feel that way.

“It’s so dark out there right now,” said poll respondent Rachel Wineman, 41, a Democrat from Murrieta, Calif.

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