Hillary and Emily Bring Out the Female Voters

By Jeff Birnbaum
In mid-February, EMILY's List, the nation's largest political action committee, began to send mailings to nearly 150,000 targeted women voters in Ohio, and to appeal to women with radio commercials in Texas.

Their message: vote for Hillary Clinton. EMILY's List supports Democratic women candidates for federal office who are pro-choice, and there's only one person who fits that description running for president.

The effort may have paid off. It's hard to narrow down cause and effect precisely, but on Super Tuesday II last week, women comprised 59 percent of the electorate in Ohio, a seven percentage point increase over 2004, and in Texas, women made up 57 percent of the electorate, a four point rise over four years ago.

Clinton won big among women voters in both states. According to exit polls, she beat Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) among women in Ohio by 16 points and among women in Texas by 11 points.

Maren Hesla of EMILY's List says her group is planning another marketing barrage aimed at women in Pennsylvania, which will hold its pivotal primary on April 22.