Huge Gender Gap Powers Obama Lead Over Romney

By Ronald Brownstein // April 10, 2012 | 10:53 a.m.

Another new national poll confirms that President Obama's lead over Mitt Romney is now powered largely by an overwhelming preference for the president among socially-liberal, well-educated women.

The ABC/Washington Post survey released Wednesday showed Obama leading Romney overall by 51 percent to 44 percent among registered voters, which replicates his margin of victory in 2008 over John McCain.

Like national, swing state, and state polls released last week, the ABC/Post poll found that Obama was benefiting from a huge gender gap: overall he led Romney among women by 19 percentage points, while trailing among men by eight points. But, as in those earlier surveys, the president's advantage did not extend to all women.