Subtle Sexism? Examining Vote Preferences When Women Run Against Men for the Presidency

This article examines the influence of the gender of presidential candidates on perceptions of candidate qualifications and vote choice through polling data of likely Ohio voters using five candidates: Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Dole, John Edwards, Rudy Giuliani, and John McCain. In its examination, this study better mirrors the real‐world presidential selection process than other studies which use hypothetical or generic candidates. We found that women presidential candidates were viewed as significantly less qualified to be president when compared to male candidates with similar credentials. Although results showed that Democratic women candidates were not at a disadvantage in hypothetical primary nominee match‐ups, evidence of gender bias appeared in general election match‐ups. Candidates who were men beat the women candidates in every general election match‐up, and what is more, voters frequently switched their votes to the candidate who was a man when the opposition candidate was a woman. Implications for women running for president are discussed.