In the words of Cleavon Little as Sheriff Bart, the election is going to come down to one question: “Where the white women at?” Particularly in the swing states, how white women vote in the suburbs and gated communities may hold the key to this democratic experiment. Undoubtedly, women in general will break largely for Kamala Harris, not just for her potential historic presidency, but because they find the idea of an adjudicated rapist proclaiming he’s the protector of women creepy.
Women have traditionally voted at higher rates than men, and Democrats are banking on women being motivated to cast their ballots–some likely for the first time–by the reversal of abortion rights by a Trump-laden Supreme Court. The “Your Ballot is Secret” now-viral grassroots campaign apocryphally started with women leaving Post-It notes in bathroom stalls in every place from suburban chain restaurants to truck stops. Regardless of whether it started as organic or astroturf, it’s cheap, effective and subversive. And it can go on into Election Day: “Vote to protect your reproductive rights on the way home from work.”
Sadly, a campaign like that is needed. In too many relationships and in too many households, women have to nod in agreement when a husbro’s or brofriend’s bro-friend says something misogynistic when he gets dumped by a woman. “Poor Tony,” she offers. “You were too good for her.” If you’ve ever been to a local insult comic’s set at a comedy club, you’ll ID them about the fourth misogynistic joke in, when the laughter turns plastic.
Trump understands this, and it’s why his campaign has tilted hard to the bro-heavy young white male demo. Motivating these low-propensity voters to get to the polls will take a lot, but it means they can likely get at least one of their low-propensity friends to vote too, and they’ll vote for the same candidate. And who knows? Maybe he’ll take his low-propensity girlfriend with him, too. And maybe she saw a note in a bathroom stall the last time they were at the club.