Keller @ Large: Coakley Struggles With Women Voters' Support
BOSTON (CBS) – The race for governor is a dead heat; yet another poll shows Republican Charlie Baker benefiting from a smaller-than-expected gender gap. Jon Keller took a closer look at why Democrat Martha Coakley is struggling to maximize support from women.
Charlie Baker may have accidentally spilled a voter's coffee in Roxbury on Wednesday, but it's Martha Coakley who seems to be fumbling away her biggest advantage in the race: her gender and the edge it should be giving her with female voters.
Related: WBZ-TV UMass Poll Shows Close Race
Coakley does have a long record of work on so-called women's issues. She has worked for the women's bar and with women in prison.
But when a woman broke down while telling her story during a meeting at a Brighton women's shelter, Coakley didn't move to comfort her. Instead she chose to empathize from a distance.
"She's not aggressive enough and she's not being passionate enough," said Democratic political analyst Sue O'Connell.
"Who cares about my daughter when she grows up getting paid the same? Who cares about my daughter going to college and not being assaulted? Martha has to get passionate about that," O'Connell added.
Coakley believes she is a more passionate advocate than Charlie Baker, but is leaving it up to voters to decide.
Baker promoted the idea that women care less about a candidate's gender than their position on issues like economic growth when asked why women should vote for him over Coakley.
That may be so, but it's Coakley's failure to connect with more female voters that's helping keep this race so close.
The latest fundraising reports show Baker raising much more money than Coakley, but it's unknown whether this will be a problem for her heading into the final month.
Tune in to the first Boston TV debate in the governor's race on Tuesday Oct. 7 at 7:00 pm on WBZ-TV.
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