Philadelphia Suburb Women Will Be Key Voters in November Elections

Doris Brown has lived in Quakertown for decades and has watched the silent, rural neighborhood transform into part of Philadelphia’s sprawling suburbs.

In the slow 60s, before Roe v. Wade was the law of the land, Brown had an extremely complex pregnancy. Ultimately, Brown said, the baby died, and she underwent a procedure similar to a surgical abortion to remove the fetus.

“Luckily, at the time I was able to get the abortion I needed, but that’s changing now. Not in Pennsylvania, but it’s just a matter of time,” the 89-year-old told Pennsylvania House of Representatives candidate Vera Cole, who visited her home this month. in one of the more conservative parts of the Bucks County battleground. Abortion was illegal in Pennsylvania before Roe v. Wade, but there were some gaps. A ban on abortion would have no effect on Brown because the fetus had already died.

Cole, a Democrat, cited free and fair elections and protecting reproductive rights as her top issues.

“I don’t like the way we’re treated,” Brown told Cole. “I object to anyone telling me what to do with my body.”

Brown, an independent, has not voted for a Republican in a presidential election since Sen. John McCain in 2008. But she said she would consider voting for incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, although she previously voted against him. She is exactly the kind of voter Democrats need to reach to win in November.

The exchange between Brown and Cole reflects conversations Democrats are having with women in the Philadelphia suburbs ahead of the November election, the first presidential election since the Supreme Court struck down federal abortion rights in 2022. Reproductive rights are a central issue for Democratic candidates — whether they’re running for state law or the White House.

Women in collar counties are poised to play a potentially pivotal role in determining the next president after helping President Joe Biden win in 2020. They could potentially make Vice President Kamala Harris the first female president if they show up for her in similar or larger numbers than former President Donald Trump.

“Women are excited and ready to go this election season, and they have been since their rights were taken away,” said Delaware County Councilwoman Monica Taylor, a Democrat. who is also co-chair of Black Women for Harris in suburban Philadelphia.

Taylor noted that women volunteered in immense numbers, and those who had previously opted out only began showing up after Harris was nominated.

That enthusiasm will be put to the test in November.

The Philadelphia suburbs will be key for Democrats. Biden outperformed 2016 candidate Hillary Clinton by tens of thousands in each district en route to winning the state. All four districts have more voting-age women than men, and Delaware County is second only to Philadelphia in terms of the ratio of voting-age women to men. That slight advantage for women could make a difference.

Abortion is a key factor for suburban voters. May Philadelphia Inquirer/New York Times/Siena College poll of Pennsylvania voters found that about one in eight respondents in collar counties listed abortion as their most essential issue, making it the second most essential issue after the economy. It was the only issue on which Biden, then the presumptive Democratic nominee, enjoyed greater trust than Trump.

Even before she became a candidate, Harris was a leading Democratic spokesperson on reproductive rights. During one of her first campaign visits to the Philadelphia suburbs this year, Harris spoke with Abbott Elementary SchoolSheryl Lee Ralph on abortion rights in Elkins Park.

The Trump campaign lacked such a focus on suburban women, that focused on the economy and immigration. While those issues are essential to women, and the campaign has mobilized surrogates to support, there is little evidence that the campaign is working to reach women specifically — even as Trump and his vice presidential candidate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, fend off criticism for their record on abortion and a history of demeaning comments about women. In recent statements, Trump and Vance have said that abortion policy should be set by states.

A Trump campaign spokesman said in a statement that Harris supports “dangerously liberal” policies that harm women.

“Women deserve a president who will secure our nation’s borders, rid our neighborhoods of violent criminals, and build an economy that helps our families thrive — and that’s exactly what President Trump will do,” said Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s press secretary.

How Republicans Are Getting Their Messages Out to Women in Philadelphia’s Suburbs

Republicans are playing catch-up on reproductive rights, struggling to get their message across in the face of a crackdown by states restricting abortion rights following a 2022 Supreme Court ruling.

At an event earlier this month in Bucks County, Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick brought on stage a woman who had undergone multiple failed in vitro fertilization attempts to discuss his proposal to introduce tax breaks for the treatment, a proposal that was threatened in Alabama by a state court ruling earlier this year.

“Everybody is focused on abortion, and that’s obviously a very polarizing issue in our country,” McCormick said. “…But I think there are so many more reproductive rights issues that we should be thinking about and talking about.”

McCormick, who came under fire for his anti-abortion statements in his previous race for office, reminded the crowd that he is the father of six daughters and said policymakers should consider access to contraception, adoption services and the affordability of fertility treatments.

Deb Mackey, a Bucks County voter who attended McCormick’s event, said she was pleasantly surprised to learn about McCormick’s policies on families. But she said she was thinking about other issues when deciding how to vote.

“I think so [Trump will] better for the economy, better for my stocks,” said Deb Mackey, a Bucks County Republican who opposes abortion. “On the world stage. I don’t think the players are afraid of Kamala. I think they’re very afraid of President Trump. I think his presidency will protect the nation.”

Giana DePaul, the 21-year-old executive director of the Montgomery County Republican Party, said politicians make a mistake by constantly urging women, especially youthful ones, to have abortions.

“It’s harmful to pigeonhole women and think they only care about one thing, because we are just as multidimensional as men,” DePaul said.

“We’re going to need every woman”

While reproductive rights are an essential part of the message, Montgomery County Commissioner Jamila Winder said women are also at the center of the Democratic Party’s message on issues like the economy and education.

“We’re going to need every woman, regardless of where she fits into a certain demographic in Montgomery County, to play a role in increasing voter turnout,” said Winder, who hopes organizing a pro-Harris women’s rally in the suburbs in October.

Winder, who along with Taylor is co-chair of Black Women for Harris in suburban Philadelphia, said she is also working to recruit volunteers to host compact events in people’s homes, offering opportunities to meet people in a more intimate setting.

Meanwhile, anti-Trump Republicans are working to schedule similar meetings.

Women4US, an organization that seeks to persuade Republican women to vote against Trump, has narrowed its focus to the Philadelphia suburbs as a key area. Stephanie Sharp, one of the group’s founders, said the chaos of the first Trump administration was something Republican women did not want.

“They gave him that chance and saw what would happen if they extended it,” Sharp said.

Republicans are hoping Trump can win back voters he lost in 2020 and win over women with a message focused on policy.

“If they stick to the core of their policy messages on the budget, on homeland issues and national security issues, I think they can have some success,” said Christian Nascimento, chairman of the Montgomery County Republican Party.

Yet the Democrats’ message on reproductive rights remains robust.

Cole, a candidate for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives who is running to unseat Republican incumbent state Rep. Craig Staats, said she hears about the issue in about a third of the doors she knocks on in Bucks County. She is campaigning in a district that has been Republican-held for decades, but she said people are eager to share personal stories.

“It’s something I hear a lot at the door — that people have their own opinions about abortion, but they’re not making decisions for other people,” Cole said.

Brown, an 89-year-old voter, said she’s not sure yet whether she’ll vote for Cole. She plans to support Harris, though, and reproductive rights are very essential to her as she weighs her votes in each race.

“It’s a privacy issue,” she said. “It’s between the doctor, the father of the child and the mother of the child. I just think the law, the government and politicians should stay out of it.”

Journalist Aseem Shukla helped us prepare this article.