Female turnout critical in South Carolina primary

The campaigns liberally have deployed their children to campaign for them as well.

Political analysts say a gender gap is common between Republicans and Democrats in general elections, but it is rare for candidates in a primary, where voters are usually more ideologically homogenous.

But this year, Rep. Ron Paul and Mr. Gingrich appear to be making pitches that resonate more with men than women.

A Monmouth University Polling Institute survey earlier this week found Mr. Gingrich winning men at a rate 5 percentage points higher than with women. A CNN poll released Wednesday put that gap at 12 percentage points.

It’s possible to get some sense for what’s driving the differences between men and women.

A poll by The Washington Times/JZ Analytics of likely primary voters nationwide released this week asked who they thought would be more likely to offer them a helping hand if they needed it. Fourteen percent of men said Mr. Gingrich, but only 7 percent of women did.

Meanwhile, 24 percent of women said Mr. Santorum would — far higher than the 17 percent of men who said the same thing.

Asked which candidate reminds them of their favorite relative, 24 percent of men said Mr. Gingrich did. Just 16 percent of women answered the same. For Mr. Santorum, that was flipped to 13 percent of women but just 7 percent of men.

© Copyright 2013 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.