President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign announced the launch of Women for Obama, aimed at engaging female voters. The effort’s honorary chairwoman will be first lady Michelle Obama.
“Issues like equal pay, family leave, child care, all the issues that we face are not just women’s issues — they’re family issues,” the first lady said in a statement. “They’re economic issues because when women make less than men for the work, or when they’re charged more for healthcare, that hurts entire families who need that income.”
Women will be a key demographic that the president will likely need to win if he wants another four years in the White House. Obama won 56 percent of the female vote in 2008, according to exit polls. He pulled the votes of only 49 percent of men. More than half of all voters in his race against Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) were women.
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