Rise of 'Security Moms' Could Give A Boost to GOP 2016 Election

Supporters listen as Sen. Ted Cruz speaks at Charlie's 

Steakhouse during a campaign stop in Carroll, Iowa, 

this past week. Photo: mark kauzlarich/Reuters

Amid fears over terrorism, polls hint at the revival of a group that has previously shifted to the GOP

As a group, women lean Democratic. But if the recent rise of terrorism fears persists, the Republican Party could well make gains.

Already, signs are emerging of the return of “security moms,” the women who moved toward the GOP after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks made national security a dominating concern. These women were credited with helping to deliver seats to the Republican Party in both the House and Senate in 2002, a tough feat for a president’s party in a midterm year.

CLICK CHART to ENLARGE

Signs of a “security mom” revival today are incipient, but they bear watching. Here is one potential signal: In weighing the costs of the government’s hunt for terrorists, women are worrying more about stopping attacks and less about intruding on people’s privacy.

When The Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll asked a year ago which worried them more—that the U.S. wouldn’t go far enough in monitoring potential terrorists, or that it would go too far and violate citizens’ privacy rights—half of women voters said the greater importance was stopping terrorism. A smaller share, 43% of women, worried more about the government intruding on privacy—a seven-point gap.

By this December, after the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., 61% of women said the bigger concern was a failure to monitor terrorists, with only 33% saying privacy rights were more important—a 28-point gap.

Read the rest of the story HERE.

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