As a phone bank volunteer, I hoped to counter the Republican attacks and half-truths, but people really believed them, says journalist and podcaster Oliver Hall

Summary

Gender bias played a significant role in Kamala Harris’s defeat, with many voters—often women—expressing doubts about whether “America is ready for a female president.”

Some said they “couldn’t see her in the chair,” or questioned if a woman could lead, with one even remarking, “you don’t see women building skyscrapers.” Though some voters were open to persuasion, this often became a red line.

Oliver Hall, a Harris campaign volunteer, found that economic concerns, particularly inflation, also drove voters to Donald Trump, despite low unemployment and wage growth touted by Democrats.

Harris was viewed in conflicting ways, seen as both too tough and too lenient on crime, as well as ineffective yet overly tied to Biden’s administration.

Ultimately, Hall believes that Trump’s unique appeal and influence overshadowed Harris’s campaign efforts.

  • EleventhHour@lemmy.world
    0·
    14 days ago

    I’ve talked to a lot of people, and I never once heard anyone complain about her gender. In fact, I was rather surprised that I didn’t hear anything about that. It was 100% complaints about the economy, and no matter how I tried my best to explain how not only are the price of things not by his fault, but we would have been much worse withoutBiden, it was like talking to a brick wall.

    • dhork@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      14 days ago

      I believe that there were a fair number of people who just couldn’t check the box for any woman, but we’re too afraid to admit it publically (or even to themselves). While their complaints about the economy were legit, they might have also been a convenient excuse to hide the misogyny.

      And didn’t Obama confront this head-on? He told Black men “Look, you may not be inclined to back the woman here, but backing that man in particular would be a disaster”. And he was dismissed by many as lecturing too much.

      • Wes4Humanity@lemm.ee
        0·
        14 days ago

        I highly doubt he people who couldn’t check the box for a woman were part of the 10 million who showed up for Biden but not Harris. People made it perfectly clear what would get them to show up, and instead of listening she spit in their faces… Anyone who couldn’t bring themselves to vote for a woman was almost certainly a Trump voter start to finish