"Women Know There Needs to Be a Change"

In the Governor's race, Georgia's women have already voted with their pocketbooks. According to today's AJC, about 40% of the individual contributions made to Cathy Cox have come from women, and that is a very big deal. Nationally, only about 28% of individual political contributions come from women. And only about 15% of Taylor's individual contributions have come from women, yet women will cast 55-60% of the votes in the primary. Clearly, as Mary Long, Chair of Georgia's WIN List, said in today's article, "Women know there needs to be a change." And that bodes very well for Cox's chances on Election Day.

Why does the money matter? Political giving, and not so coincidentally, political office, has long been a game dominated by the Big Guys. Most women have never written a check to a political candidate, and when they write that first $20 check, they make a personal commitment to a candidate. Often, they don't just vote: they invest.

The gender disparity in giving also says something about the difference in Cox and Taylor. The money behind her candidacy is not the "typical" political money in Georgia. Instead, she has created a coalition that includes seasoned political givers, first-timers and women who have contributed at higher levels than ever before. Many of her contributions have been less than $100, reflecting broad grassroots support. Let's not forget that many, including Taylor doubted that she could raise the money needed to win, but innovation, creativity and making a path where none existed are marks of a great leader, typical of Cathy Cox and consistent with her message that she will change the way government works so that it benefits everyone, not just the fat cats.

On the other hand, Taylor's financial disclosures to date reflect a more typical pattern of high dollar, male givers. There's nothing particularly wrong with that if you're fine with business as usual in Georgia politics.

The entire article is a worthwhile read, and can be found here. This is the portion I have referenced:

Selling herself as an agent of change has been made easier because she looks different from her opponents. The portly Taylor and the balding Perdue look the part of good ol' boys a lot more than the rail-thin Cox. She is attracting a lot of female voters. A recent review of campaign disclosure reports since the beginning of 2005 show about 40 percent of Cox's individual contributions have come from women, as opposed to about 20 percent for Perdue and 15 percent for Taylor. Mary Long, a community volunteer from Atlanta who chairs a women's political action committee that has endorsed Cox, said more than 55 percent of the Democratic primary vote will come from women. "Women know there needs to be a change," Long said.

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