'Wal-Mart Mom' Voters Swing, Will Be Crucial

Shift of working white women to GOP spells trouble for Obama

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 10, 2008 8:40 AM CDT

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'Wal-Mart Mom' Voters Swing, Will Be Crucial — Barack Obama shops for fruit with Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., at the Columbia Market House in Columbia, Pa., last week. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Polls clearly show the white women's vote swinging away from Barack Obama and it's a particular group the candidate needs to worry about most, Karen Tumulty writes in Time. Soccer moms comprised the key swing group in 1996, and "security moms" did last election, Tumulty notes. This time, it's the "Wal-Mart moms"—or grandmas—who could win it, she adds.

The "Wal-Mart moms" are in their 40s or 50s and financially squeezed by the needs of both aging parents and college-age kids. The demographic tends to be less educated and more "racially sensitive," pollsters note. John McCain has grabbed their attention with his choice of Sarah Palin, but analysts aren't sure if that will last. This group could be wooed by a Democrat, but Obama will need to do a better job of selling himself to them, Tumulty concludes.
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