Percent Presidential Voting Candidate: for Democratic Presidential Voting Candidate: 1972-2008 Women 54 54
The gender gap in 2008 – the seven-point difference between women and men in support for the Democratic candidate – was comparable to the gap in most elections since 1980. Even when Democratic candidates failed to garner a majority of the women’s vote – as in 1980, 1984 and 1988 – they still drew more support from women than from men.
The election of 1992 was unusual because of Ross Perot’s popular third-party campaign. Still, the gender gap was significant: Women backed Bill Clinton over George H.W. Bush, 45% to 37%, with 17% supporting Perot. Clinton had a narrower lead among men (41% Clinton, 38% Bush); 21% of men voted for Perot, according to exit polls conducted after the 1992 election.
Percent Presidential Voting Candidate: for Democratic  | Presidential Voting Candidate: 1972-2008  | 56  | Women 54 54  | 51  | 50  | 49  | 45 44  | 45  | 50  | 49  | 38  | 41 41 43 42 44  | 36 37  | 36  | Men  | S  | S  | S  | I  | I  | is  | S  | S  | go  | S  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER, Based on exit polls 1972 and  | 1976: RESEARCH CBS 1980-1988: CENTER, CBS/New Based on York exit Times polls 1972 1992, and 1996  | and 2000: Voter News Service 2004 and 2008: National  | Election Pool. 