http://www.gallup.com/poll/releases/pr990212b.asp

POLL ANALYSES
February 12, 1999

Gender Gap Persists for Clinton

by Frank Newport

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

Bill Clinton went into the historic Senate impeachment vote today with a stronger position among women in the American population than among men – despite the fact that the impeachment controversy centered on allegations of sexual harassment and an admitted affair with a White House intern half the President’s age.

In Gallup’s most recent poll before the impeachment proceedings, conducted February 9:

This type of gender gap was a significant factor historically in Clinton’s two presidential victories, with women voters forming the core of his support. The nature of the situations that gave birth to the impeachment process – involving allegations of illicit propositions and affairs with women – could have been hypothesized to have caused a diminution of the female skew in his support. That, as can be seen above, did not occur.

Clinton also continues to enjoy stronger support among Democrats than he does opposition among Republicans. This situation among rank and file Democrats and Republicans nationwide thus mirrors the final vote in the Senate on Friday, in which Democrats were unanimous in voting against conviction on both charges, while 10 and 5 Republicans broke ranks and voted with Democrats on the perjury and obstruction of justice charges, respectively. Mathematically, coupling these Democratic and Republican patterns with the fact that independents are strongly against conviction and removal, creates the situation in which two-thirds of the overall population supported Clinton’s staying in office in the February 9 Poll.

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