Women have been voting in presidential elections since the 1920s, but rarely have their ballots been more decisive than the recent election.

President Barack Obama won with a slim 51 percent of the popular vote, in part because he had strong support from women voters. According to tracking surveys by the Gallup Poll, women favored Obama over Republican challenger Mitt Romney 56 percent to 44 percent. On the other hand, Romney was favored by men 54 percent to 46 percent.

That 20-point gender gap is the largest ever measured by Gallup, which began compiling votes by subgroups in 1952. That is up from a 14-point gender gap when Obama was first elected in 2008.

The next highest gender gap was 18 points in 1984. In that case, men and women were on the same side, favoring Ronald Reagan over Walter Mondale, but Reagan had a 28-point advantage with men and only a 10-point advantage with women.

This election, the gender gap was one of the factors that made a difference, along with several other interesting factors. Exit polling shows that Obama gained support from women, the poor, people of color, urbanites, young voters and those who worship infrequently. Romney gained from men, rural Americans, senior citizens and those who worship regularly.

Clearly after the results from the election, political parties and their candidates are going to be more mindful of these issues and listening more closely to the concerns of women voters.

— The Herald-Dispatch,

Huntington, W. Va., Nov. 12