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Survey: More Women are Paying Attention to Politics Post-Trump

Six in 10 women said they were watching politics more closely

Protesters march down Independence Avenue in Washington holding signs during the Women’s March on Washington. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
Protesters march down Independence Avenue in Washington holding signs during the Women’s March on Washington. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Americans are paying more attention to politics and women are more likely to be tuning in, according to a recent survey.

The Pew Research Center found that nearly six in 10 women say they are paying more attention to political developments since President Donald Trump was elected. That’s compared to to 46 percent of men who said they are more attentive. More Democrats than Republicans surveyed also said they are paying more attention, the survey found.

The survey is a snapshot of heightened political interest following Trump’s surprise victory last November, and the barrage of political developments that has dominated the news cycle following Trump’s election.  

Women have been particularly energized following Trump’s election, and turned out in droves for “Women’s Marches” across the country and the globe the day after Trump’s inauguration.

Though more people are paying attention, only 15 percent of those surveyed said they have attended a political event, rally or protest since November. Two-thirds of that small group who have attended events say the events were anti-Trump.

But Democrats have been pointing out that they are experiencing an unprecedented number of candidates who are interested in running for office, many of them women.

EMILY’s List, which supports women candidates who are pro-abortion rights, has heard from scores of women interested in running. A spokesperson told Roll Call in early June that the group had heard from 14,000 women interested in running for office from local to federal levels — more than 15 times the total number of interested candidates who contacted the group in the entire 2016 campaign cycle.

Pew also surveyed how political differences are affecting Americans’ interactions. Nearly 60 percent of those surveyed said it was stressful or frustrating to talk with someone who had a different opinion about Trump, while 35 percent found those conversations interesting and informative.

But political views do not strain or strengthen the respondents’ friendships. Nearly three in four respondents said whether a friend voted for Trump would not affect their friendship.

And the majority of Democrats and Republicans said that, politics aside, those of the opposite party share their values and goals.

Pew surveyed 2,505 adults from all 50 states and the District of Columbia by telephone between June 27 and July 9. One in four were interviewed on a landline phone, while the rest were interviewed via cell phone.

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