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What's behind white women's support for Trump? A Republican activist weighs in

Early exit polls show Trump leading Harris in support from white women.

Sarah Chamberlain, president and CEO of Republican Main Street Partnership — a nonprofit that supports Republican politicians — offers some theories as to why white women voted for Trump "en masse."

"I think women's health care is extremely important to women, but obviously the economy was important," she told NPR. "And frankly, I think Harris was probably not the best candidate."

Chamberlain says a lot of female voters in general her organization spoke with before the election were concerned that Harris wasn't properly vetted.

"She didn't have one vote through the primary, Biden steps off, then they kind of anoint her ... and a lot of people didn't care for that," she says.

Another possible factor, Chamberlain says, is that many women do not believe Trump would enact the radical changes on which he's campaigned.

"They said, 'Oh, we've heard his rhetoric before. He didn't do it the first time he was in office. We don't think he's going to do it this time," she added.

Copyright 2024 NPR

Rachel Treisman (she/her) is a writer and editor for the Morning Edition live blog, which she helped launch in early 2021.