VICTOR JOECKS: Why Harris struggles with ‘white dudes’
If you want evidence that men and women are fundamentally different, look at how they’re going to vote in November.
A recent Quinnipiac Poll puts former President Donald Trump up one point ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris, 48-47. But among female voters, Harris dominates, besting Trump 53-40. The reverse is true for Trump. He leads among male voters by a similar margin, 54-41. That’s a gender gap of 26 points.
The Harris camp knows this is a weakness. Shortly after Democrats forced President Joe Biden to drop out, her supporters held a “White Dudes for Harris” Zoom call. Strategically, this makes sense. Improving her standing with white men by three points would probably win her Pennsylvania and the presidency.
But it’s interesting to examine why Harris fares so poorly among men.
To start, this trend predates Harris. For decades, women have been more likely to back Democrat presidential candidates than men. Inversely, the GOP’s weakness with women isn’t unique to Trump, even as he accentuates it.
There are many reasons for this. One factor is abortion. Sadly, many women now view their ability to kill their preborn children as a precondition to equality with men. These women prefer Democrats.
There’s also a philosophical difference between the two parties. Democrats want the government to solve your problems. Republicans want you to have freedom to solve your own problems — and live with the consequences.
Women are more risk-averse than men. They prioritize security, while men prefer opportunity even if it comes with more ups and downs. Of course, these are broad generalizations with many exceptions in both directions. It’s also a mistake to try to fight about which view is better. A healthy society needs both. God made sex differences to be complementary, not competitive.
It’s easy to see how Harris’ campaign appeals to females. Killing babies is one of the few policy areas Harris will talk about in detail even if she relies on euphemisms. Polling shows that’s more appealing to women than men.
During the presidential debate, Harris said, “Donald Trump has no plan for you.” That line is much more likely to win over women because they prioritize security. To many men, it sounds like a strait-jacket. All the caveats about generalizations appeal here, too.
For decades, the left has pushed the idea that society unfairly benefits men. Never mind that men are now less educated, more likely to end up in jail and have a lower life expectancy. There are many programs to push girls and women into traditionally male areas, such as the hard sciences. There are a host of government initiatives explicitly set up for women. Along with Biden, Harris championed this approach as vice president.
Harris’ unspoken message to men is that male success is problematic and undeserved.
Biden holds very similar positions to Harris, but he spent decades crafting a working-class persona. In a Teamsters’ poll before he dropped out, Biden led Trump by 9 points. The Teamsters declined to endorse Harris. Its members preferred Trump by around 25 points. As a San Francisco liberal, Harris doesn’t have the same appeal to working-class men Biden did.
She’s smart enough not to directly insult men. “White Dudes for Harris” isn’t. The group recently rolled out a $10 million ad buy. “Hey, white dudes. So, I think we’re all pretty sick of hearing how much we suck,” the ad voiceover says. “Every time you go online, it’s the same story. We’re the problem. And yeah, some white dudes are.”
Telling white dudes that some white dudes suck isn’t a great way to appeal to white dudes. But it’s an apt summary of why Harris is struggling to win male voters.
Victor Joecks’ column appears in the Opinion section each Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. Contact him at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on X.