Dr. Susan MacManus to Belleair Women's Republication Club: Women are not Monolithic VotersPhoto/text by Renee Burrell
The Belleair Women's Republican Club was chartered in 1964 and is one of Florida's oldest women's Republican clubs. Pictured here are (left to right): Petey Henning the club's 1st vice president, Dr. Susan MacManus and Norma Stalions, president Dr. Susan MacManus, USF professor and political news commentator, spoke to the Belleair Women's Republication Club (BWRC) during their meeting Friday, February 1, at the Wine Cellar Restaurant on North Redington Beach. MacManus often offers expert commentary internationally on public opinion and intergenerational politics for television and print media. At the luncheon/meeting, she shared her analysis of the results from the Florida presidential primary results and discussed women voters, whom she said research shows, "… are the ones who have really pretty much controlled the nominating process on both sides of the aisle. It turned out the women voters in all of the primaries are critical in record numbers. So it is definitely the case that women voters are going to determine who gets the nomination this time out." MacManus said polls have shown that when it comes to voting, women of both parties are inconsistent and often say one thing but do another, so campaigns should not take anything for granted. "Woman are not monolithic voters--if the assumption from the get go is that if a woman is running for president, if you're a woman you will vote for a woman." To prove her point, MacManus asked for a show of hands from the woman in attendance who planned on voting for female presidential candidate, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. None were raised.
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