Why Both Clinton And Trump Are Pushing To Win Women Voters

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – On Monday, Hillary Clinton's campaign brought in the national president of Planned Parenthood for an event in St. Paul.

It's part of the campaign's battle to solidify the women's vote.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump's campaign has released a new ad aimed at women that's airing in the Twin Cities and nationwide.

The ad features his daughter, Ivanka, saying that her father as president will provide dependent child care tax credits, paid maternity leave and dependent care savings accounts.

The ad buy comes at the end of a week in in which Trump drew fire for doubling down on criticism of a former Miss Universe, Alicia Machado.

One of the reasons women voters matter is that there are actually more female than male voters in the U.S.

Secondly, polls and past election results show that women - especially suburban women - are more likely to not be locked into party affiliations and that they are the ones who decide not just local but presidential elections.

The Trump-Clinton showdown is evolving into a battle of the sexes.

The latest volley comes from Trump surrogate Rudy Giuliani, who said on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" that having Trump – an "economic genius" – in the White House is better than having a woman.

On Monday, the Clinton campaign organized a forum in St. Paul on women's health issues, featuring the national President of Planned Parenthood Federation and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund Cecile Richards and Congresswoman Betty McCollum.

McCollum says Clinton is the only choice for women.

"I don't think it's close at all," she said.

Richards, a leading Clinton surrogate, says the Democratic candidate has always been a champion of women's rights and Planned Parenthood.

"The difference between her and Donald Trump could not be starker," she said.

But the nationwide roll out of the Ivanka Trump ad shows the Trump campaign is trying to win over not only women but younger women.

"The battle over women is really the battle for the critical swing voters," said Hamline University political science professor David Schultz.

A CBS News poll released last month showed Clinton leading Trump 55 to 39 percent among women. But among younger women, the support is not as strong.

That is a big reason why Sen. Bernie Sanders, Clinton's one time rival who continues to enjoy enthusiastic support among younger voters, will be campaigning for Clinton on Tuesday in both Minneapolis and Duluth.