CHARLOTTE– What were midterm voters feeling? That would be concern about jobs and the economy and anxiety over Islamic terrorism and the Ebola virus creeping over American borders. A Democratic “war on women” message that helped Terry McAuliffe become Virginia’s governor in 2013 did not gain much traction with a 2014 electorate in a foul mood and ready to blame it on President Obama and a gridlocked Congress.
The gender gap was not wide enough to save Sen. Mark Udall in Colorado, Bruce Braley in Iowa or incumbent Sen. Kay Hagan in North Carolina. Astute and well-financed campaigns honed a Republican message that worked spectacularly. And women who did show up at the polls let it be known that they hardly walk in gender lockstep on issues of education, the economy and abortion and choice.
