Women Buoy Democrats in Senate - Polls Show Female Voters Tipping the Balance in Some Races; GOP Gets More Support Among Men.

From The Wall Street Journal:

Democratic Senate candidates in several battleground states are benefiting from a significant advantage among women voters, helping them build leads in some places and preventing them from falling behind in others.

It isn't clear whether this gender gap, which is affecting races from Ohio to Michigan to Florida, will persist, or whether it reflects Democrats' allegations of a Republican "war on women" or is linked to broader issues. But Democratic leaders plan to keep pressing their advantage among women in their fight to keep control of the Senate.

Republicans don't deny that Democrats lead among women in several states, but they say it is equally true that Republicans have an advantage among men.

"It's clear that there is a serious gender-gap problem for Democrats with male voters," said Brian Walsh, spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which coordinates the GOP Senate campaigns.

Republican strategist David Winston said the hard-fought GOP presidential primary may have turned off some female voters who wanted to hear more about economic issues. "Part of the challenge for Republicans is to ensure that the issues women are concerned about are effectively addressed," he said. "Women are most concerned about jobs and the economy."