CONCORD, New Hampshire — Elizabeth Warren’s allegation that Bernie Sanders told her in 2018 that he did not think a woman could win the presidency in 2020 sparked outrage and allegations of sexism. But a portion of Democratic primary voters agrees with the sentiment.
Nearly 1 in 6 likely New Hampshire Democratic primary voters in a Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll released Tuesday said that they did not think a woman candidate can win enough votes from the Electoral College to defeat President Trump in 2020. Another 6.6% were not sure.
Sanders, a Vermont senator, has denied telling the Massachusetts senator that he did not think a woman can win. He conceded on Sunday, though, that gender could be a “problem” for female candidates, similar to how race was a challenge for President Barack Obama.
Early state voters have overwhelmingly focused on Democratic presidential hopefuls’ “electability” versus Trump in a general election. A January Economist/YouGov poll found that 62% of likely Democratic primary voters and caucusgoers nationally would prefer a nominee who can beat Trump in a general election rather than one with whom they agree on most issues.
Just as they scrutinize the ages of Sanders, 78, and former vice president Joe Biden, 77, it seems some voters find that gender is also a characteristic impossible to ignore.
“It is obviously an uphill battle sometimes because there’s still a lot of people that are concerned about gender,” said Deputy New Hampshire House Speaker Karen Ebel, who has endorsed Sen. Amy Klobuchar from Minnesota. “But I for one haven’t exactly encountered it, and I’m in a very purple state.”
While voters might personally want a woman nominee, they worry what neighbors might think in a general election — particularly since many did not foresee Trump defeating Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016. Many blamed her loss on sexism.
A few voters simply prefer a male president over a female one.
“I think a man should be the leader,” retired Florence, South Carolina, resident Jackie Myers, 67, told the Washington Examiner at a Joe Biden event in October. “A woman is fine, but you know, you can’t take the place of a man.”
Hillary Clinton warned women candidates about the disadvantage their gender brings.
“Look, you can run the best campaign, but you’re going to have to be even better than your best campaign to overcome some of the unfairness that will be directed at you as a woman,” she recalled telling the female 2020 contenders in an interview published Tuesday.
In some ways, being a female candidate could be a boost. Democratic primary voters in early voting states often express that they would prefer a female candidate — or if not a woman nominee then a female vice presidential pick. Warren often says on the campaign trail that there is a lot a president can do “all by herself” to rapturous applause.
The New York Times on Sunday endorsed both Warren and Klobuchar, the two highest-polling candidates left in the race. “May the best woman win,” the editorial board said.
Ebel noted that despite concerns about women being electable versus Trump, Clinton won the popular vote in 2016.
“Women can pull a lot of factions together that perhaps men can’t,” she said. “It should be viewed as an asset, not an issue.”
