Republican candidates are failing to connect with women and independent voters through their campaign messaging, conservative activist Heather Higgins said on the latest episode of “Pod Force One.”
Higgins, the CEO of Independent Women’s Voice, said Republicans could learn from President Trump and former President Ronald Reagan, both of whom she described as especially effective communicators with women and swing voters.
“Women are, from the data I’ve seen, 53%, sometimes they even say 54% of the electorate,” Higgins told “Pod Force One” host Miranda Devine.
“They tend to vote at a 10-point higher rate than a man does. So, you would think that your focus would be a lot on this larger slice of the electorate that votes more than the males do, but … the Republican messaging tends to not be focused on that.”
Higgins said women generally “object to being told what to think,” arguing that the typical Republican advertisement often delivers its message too aggressively.
“That does not work with women, but that’s how the GOP tends to talk,” she said.
The longtime conservative activist and businesswoman added that this response is not limited to women.
“We have a lot of data that shows that if you’re talking to men who self-describe as independents, they don’t want to be told what to think either,” Higgins said. “You have to figure out some other way to communicate with them that you allow them to make up their own minds about things.”
Higgins made the comments as Republican Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy faces criticism over a controversial advertisement featuring his opponent Amy Acton’s long-estranged mother, Donna Arthur. In the ad, Arthur calls her daughter a “liar” and urges Ohio voters not to support her.
Acton has said that her mother’s husband sexually abused her as a child and that Arthur stood by her alleged rapist.
The advertisement drew widespread condemnation from both Democrats and Republicans. Acton’s brother accused Ramaswamy of attempting to turn “the sexual abuse Amy endured at twelve years old from our birth mother’s husband into a political talking point.”
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 2 Former FBI Officials Charged With Lying to Congress About Hunter Biden Laptop Investigation
Republicans, however, are not the only party that could be leaving voters unpersuaded ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm election.
“What’s interesting this cycle is that also the left hasn’t really been focused on women as a women’s issue type thing either,” Higgins said. “Maybe that’s because they can no longer define what a woman is, so they no longer have a suite of issues for women.”
“So, there’s been a sort of absence on both sides.”
Higgins said women often become more engaged in politics later in life, particularly when an issue becomes urgent or directly affects them.
According to the IWV CEO, they are also less likely to respond positively to fear-based campaign messaging.
“They tend to resonate with a way of thinking which is less about ‘Oh no!’ fear-based, ‘They’re socialists,’ and more about is somebody being harmed, is this fair and what are the benefits to you and to your family, or the harms to you and your family and the people that you care about?” she told Devine. “So, keeping that in mind is really important when structuring those arguments.”
Higgins also cited Trump’s use of “extreme emotional language,” including his practice of telling people that he loves them, as an approach other Republican candidates could consider.
“How many Republican politicians have you ever heard say they love you? Right? It just doesn’t happen,” she said. “And I think part of the reason that Trump, as well as Reagan, are far better communicators than most Republicans is that they started out as Democrats.
“They understand the power of empathy. They understand the power of story. They understand the power of narrative and the power of connection, which is largely missing from the policy geek or lawyer or business guy who, because of facts and data, has gotten into Republican politics.”
Higgins continued, “It’s not that they don’t care. It’s just not part of their pattern to express it. He expresses it all the time.”
READ MORE: Swimming Pool Industry ‘Godfather’ Charged With Assaulting Ex-Partner
