GOP to target female voters in metro

WASHINGTON — Suburban Atlanta women are the target of a new election push in Washington.
 
Channel 2's Justin Gray has learned that Republicans are planning to pour time, effort and money into attracting female voters north of Atlanta.
 
Cobb and Gwinnett counties are being specifically targeted by national Republicans. They're trying to recruit younger women and swing voters in those Atlanta suburbs who have tended to vote Democratic.

The battle cry from some Democrats is that there's a war on women. But what's clear is the two parties are fighting a war for women in the upcoming elections.
 
President Barack Obama's victories in 2008 and 2012 were powered by a gender gap. Now, Republicans are launching a new strategy to try to make up that ground.
 
"It's targeting women between 21 and 40; that key demographic Republicans need to be better with," said Republican National Committee spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski.
 
Kukowski said the GOP is trying to recruit younger, suburban women in key states.
 
Last week, Democrats tried to make issues important to women a key election theme, with the president signing an executive order about equal pay and Democrats in Congress proposing an equal pay law.
 
"It's about women and the economy," Kukowski said
 
Now Republicans are trying to fight back.
 
"They're being forced to go to what they think is their base and we're saying we actually don't think this is your base. We're going to be competitive because these voters are important and we believe they're with us on a lot of issues," Kukowski said
 
How big a problem has the Republican Party had with women lately?
 
Obama beat Mitt Romney among female voters by 12 percent in 2012.

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