How will women approach the 2014 midterms?

With elections around the corner, winning over women is becoming the focus of both parties

October 31, 2014 1:00PM ET

by Inside Story Team @AJInsideStoryAM

President Barack Obama was in Rhode Island on Friday on a mission to woo women’s votes.

“The idea that my daughters wouldn’t have the same opportunities as somebody’s sons — well, that’s unacceptable. That’s not acceptable!” said Obama.

With the midterms quickly approaching, winning over women for Election Day is becoming the focus of both parties.

At Friday’s rally, Obama praised women for their endurance through the slowly recovering economy. “The challenge is, our economy and some of the laws and rules governing our workplaces haven’t caught up with that reality. So while many women are working hard to support themselves and their families, they’re still facing unfair choices, outdated workplace policies. That holds them back, but it also holds all of us back,” he said.

In 2012 a majority of American women voted for Obama. Though Mitt Romney won more married women's votes, the single women's vote is larger, giving Democrats the boost they needed to win.

But a recent Gallup tracking poll says women’s approval of the president is now essentially split down the middle, and single women don’t typically vote at high rates in midterms.

Republicans are seizing the opportunity. On the stump in Iowa, in one of the toughest Senate contests this season, is Joni Ernst, who would be the first woman to represent Iowa in Congress. She calls herself a proud Iowan, a mother and a farm girl, but she says she is not running on her gender and is not counting solely on women to propel her to office.

In these elections, the economy is the top issue on all voters’ minds. Though the U.S. gross domestic product is climbing, wages since the Great Recession have stagnated, and women are feeling it more than men.

On average, women working full time make 22 percent less than their male counterparts, according to the 2013 census. Fewer women than men were unemployed last year, but only 74 percent of women worked full-time, versus 87 percent of men.

Like any voters, women carry their life circumstances with them into the polling booth. Both parties are making arguments in their favor.

What are the issues at the forefront of women's minds?

How do the parties plan to capture women's votes?

Are there women likely to cross party lines?

We consulted a panel of experts for the Inside Story.